


What I've Been Looking For

by AtLeastIWasThere



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, One True Pairing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-11-05
Packaged: 2018-04-18 04:25:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4692008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtLeastIWasThere/pseuds/AtLeastIWasThere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeff thought it would just be a regular dinner with some guys from his law firm until he notices a beautiful woman who has been stood up. For some godforsaken reason he takes it upon himself to save this girl's dignity. But she might actually be the one saving him. Various stages in this version of Jeff and Annie's relationship!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unnamed

Unnamed:

 

It was well past eight thirty when Jeff and some of his coworkers entered the restaurant. It was this popular Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side and it was Friday night so of course it was packed. “There’s only three of us are you sure that it’s going to take on hour to get a table?” Jeff asked.

The hostess looked at her seating chart and turned to another coworker, “Hey has that guy shown up for table four?”

“No, poor girl’s been stood up but she’s still holding out hope.” Jeff looked behind the hostess’s head and saw the table they were referring to. There was a nice table for two near the bar with a girl nervously waiting for a guy that wasn’t going to show up. She was beautiful, that was the only way Jeff could describe her. She wasn’t hot or even adorable, she was just beautiful, maybe the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and some shmuck had ditched her.

The hostess walked over to the table and although Jeff couldn’t hear what they were saying he knew they were trying to get her to give up the table. Out of sheer pity the hostesses backed down and returned to Jeff with the bad news.

“Hey Winger, we’re just going settle for this bar a couple of blocks away, you comin’?” Tim said.

Jeff paused, “Uh, you know I’m not feeling too great, you guys go on without me.”

“Whatever man, see you Monday.” Tim mutters and turns to leave the restaurant.

Jeff doesn’t leave though; he finds an empty place at the bar, a chair that was close enough to the door and close enough so he could continue looking at the girl sitting at the table.

She had long brown hair and the biggest bluest eyes he had ever seen. He noticed the wait table staff giving her sympathetic looks and then he saw the girl starting to gather her purse as she was trying her best not to let tears fall out of her eyes.

He doesn’t exactly know what wire in his brain caused him to do it but he got up from his seat and in a second he was standing next to her practically announcing to the entire restaurant, “I’m so sorry I’m late darling, traffic was hell getting here!” he reached down and kissed her cheek before sitting down at the opposing chair.

He looked up and saw those big blue eyes staring at him in confusion. He leaned in and whispered, “Hey I’m Jeff, just go with it.” He was silently cursing at himself before she smiled weakly and sat back down.

“I’m Annie,” She whispers.

“Well Annie, it is very nice to meet you.” Jeff says smiling at her. In his head he’s still kind of freaking out as to why the hell he felt the need to be chivalrous that night. But as the evening moves on and the more he talks to her he’s starting to think it was the best decision of his life.

“Forensics really? You don’t look like a girl who would be interested in that sort of thing.”

“It’s the eyes isn’t it?” She laughs, “People always say that I have these big innocent Disney Princess eyes.”

“They’re beautiful.” Is all he says and they both start blushing like they’re in high school.

“Well you’re quite the opposite,” she eventually says. He raises his eyebrows, “Oh no not the eyes I meant your career! I didn’t mean your eyes weren’t beautiful they’re actually quite nice, a unique shade of green!” Her hands jerk up as she’s trying to defend herself to him.

He laughs, “No it’s okay, go on.” He tells her.

“I only meant that you look like the kind of guy who would be a lawyer.” She relaxes and takes another bite of her steak.

Jeff reaches forward and takes another sip of wine, “What gave you that impression.”

She gestures him with her hands, “The suit, the hair, and the cocky attitude.”

He smirks, “You think I’m cocky?” She blushes again as she takes the last bite of her steak.

After she swallows she looks up at him and shrugs, “A little bit.” As soon as she says that his hand flies to his heart and he starts his ‘pretending to be offended’ routine.

“Oh you have wounded me milady!” he says most theatrically, Annie is laughing when the waitress approaches them with the check.

They both stare at it, neither of them wanting this dinner to end. But it has to so Jeff reaches forward and takes the bill. “You really don’t have to pay!” she says

He smirks at her, “Of course I do, a gentleman always pays when he takes a nice lady to dinner.

“Yeah but you didn’t ask me on this date so it’s a little unfair that you have to pay for it.”

Jeff reached forward and put his hand over hers, “Annie, I’ve had a really good time tonight. I would be more than happy to pay for dinner.” Annie flashes him a tiny smile and lets him pay.

As they’re walking out of the restaurant she says to him, “Thank you, by the way for saving me from the destruction of my own dignity.”

“You’re welcome,” he says, “What kind of jack ass would ditch you anyway?”

“Just this guy named Vaughn. He’s in this band that plays at a bar my friend owns and he asked me out.”

“No offense but that sounds like the lamest guy ever.” She playfully slaps his chest. “I mean there has to be some better guys to pick from at the lab you work at.”

“No, most of them are married or girls.” She sighs, “So what kind of girls does Jeff Winger usually date.”

“Nah.” He waves his hand hoping she’ll change the conversation.

“Come on, partner at one of the biggest law firms in Denver girls must be dying to go out with you.”

“I’ve actually never been a relationship kind of guy.” Annie muttered an ‘oh’ before Jeff asked, “Where is your car?”

“Oh my roommate dropped me off, I thought that Vaughn would drop me off when we were done but I’ll just get my roommate to pick me up.”

“Nonsense, I don’t mind driving you home.”

Annie raised her eyebrow at him, “For all I know you could be an axe murderer.”

Jeff pointed towards his Lexus, “Would an axe murderer own a brand new Lexus?” She raised both of her eyebrows, “And would an axe murderer really bother with having a career in law.”

“I don’t know, knowing the law of the land could help you when you get caught.”

“Who says I’d get caught,” She playfully slapped his chest again as he laughed. “Seriously,” he said after their laughter had settled, “I don’t mind driving you home.” She finally agreed and climbed into the passenger side of his Lexus.

They make light conversation in the car about how marvel movies were in fact not as big of a deal as everyone makes them out to be. “I know! They’re just average block buster movies.”

“They’re not meant to be Oscar winning films, they’re just there to make Disney even more money then they already have!”

She pointed down various streets until they pulled up to an apartment complex. He walked her up to the door, “Listen,” he said, “I had a surprisingly good time tonight.”

“’Surprisingly’ meaning that you weren’t sure what you were expecting when you saved my dignity tonight?”

“Exactly, it was like the lottery. I didn’t know what I was going to get.”

“Well you win some you lose some I guess.” She said.

“I think I won the jackpot actually.” He smiled at her.

Annie smiled back at Jeff, “I thought you weren’t the dating type.”

He leaned in a little bit, “I think I’m starting to change my mind.” He was trying to kiss her because my god did he want to kiss her so bad. Those big blue eyes staring at him all night, her perfect laugh coming from her luscious lips he just had to know what it was like to kiss them.

She maneuvered her head so she was whispering in her ear, “Then I guess you’ll have to call me again because… I don’t kiss on first dates.” She smirked at the shocked expression on his face, shocked that his charm hadn’t worked on her.

It was then the door opened to reveal one of Annie’s roommates. He was a skinny Arabic young man who was holding a bowl of buttered noodles. With his fork he pointed at Jeff, “That’s not Tiny Nipples.” He said.

Jeff raised his eyebrows and looked at Annie, “Tiny Nipples?”

“Jeff this is Abed, my roommate. Abed this is Jeff a lawyer who saved my dignity tonight when _Vaughn_ stood me up.”

“Plot twist.” He marveled. Annie pushed him back into the apartment before she leaned against the door slipping her card into Jeff’s pocket. “I had a really great time, call me sometime, okay?”

“Okay,” he smiles before she shuts the door to her apartment.

There is an unspoken rule amongst men that you must wait three days before calling a woman and Jeff’s never been the one who even asked people out but to be quite honest Jeff’s never been a rule follower. So he calls Annie Edison the very next morning, not too early but his heart does something strange when she picks up the phone. His heart flutters when he hears her say his name and it beats even faster when he asks her to lunch and he’s sitting there like a damn fool waiting for her response.

“I’d love too!” she says.

They set up a place and time that day and they both think that maybe this is the person that will change everything. Maybe this is the person who I’ve been waiting for. 


	2. The Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie invites Jeff to meet her 'family' at Troy's Birthday Party

What I’ve Been Looking For:

Chapter 2: The Family

            They’ve been on three dates when she says, “Hey, my friends are getting together at this little bar on 20th street. My other roommate’s birthday is that day, and I’d really like it if you could come and… you know… meet them?” Her face quenches up when she’s done asking him because at this moment Annie doesn’t know how serious they are, I mean Jeff did tell her that he wasn’t a relationship kind of guy.

            As she was thinking this a thought popped into Jeff’s head. They had been out together on three separate occasions (not including the one where they met) and this would be their first ‘coupley’ event together. And that scared him. He swallowed and smiled at her, I mean how could he not, and said, “Yeah, sure” As if it was no big deal.

            She smiles at his response then hugs him, “Oh Jeff, I just know they’re going to love you!” She pulls back and beams up at him, “You should wear that blue collared shirt that makes your eyes pop!”

            “What am I, meeting your parents?” He tries to joke because she’s so cute when she gets all excited like that, but she’s even cuter when he teases her.

            But as soon as he says that her entire attitude changes, “No,” she says, “You probably won’t ever meet them.”

            He wants to ask her why he wont get to meet them, but at the same times he’s not sure how serious he wants this relationship with Annie to be. So he drops it, “Don’t worry,” he tells her, “I’ll wear that shirt _and_ the matching tie to make the best possible impression I can on your friends.”

            “Thanks, they’re like family to me.” She smiles again and pulls him down for a small kiss.

            He’s decided that his favorite hobby is kissing Annie Edison. He likes the way her soft puckered lips feel against his. He likes the way she tugs at his neck to make sure he doesn’t move a muscle, and he especially loves the way she tastes. Like coffee or cinnamon. Jeff’s never really liked cinnamon before but he loves the way it tastes against Annie’s lips.

            “Ok I’ll see you Thursday.” She says after she tells him all of the plans for the party. He watches her as she turns and leaves the small café before typing out the details in his phone. She arrives home to find Troy and Abed playing video games with Britta, Troy’s girlfriend, reading “Yes Please” by Amy Poehler.

            “Hey where’ve you been?” Britta asks Annie as she drops her keys on the counter.

            “Annie has a new boyfriend.” Abed said.

            “Vaughn?” Britta said disgusted.

            “Abed!” Annie exclaimed, “He’s not Vaughn and he is not my boyfriend.” Abed shrugged and continued to play his video game. Annie turned back to Britta, “It’s just this guy that I’ve gone on a few dates with. He’s actually going to go to Troy’s birthday at Shirley’s on Thursday night.”

            Britta smiled, “Sounds pretty serious.”

            “Wait what? You’re inviting a total stranger to my birthday?” Troy paused the video game and turned around to face Annie, “What if we don’t like him? What if he’s racist? What if he says Spiderman 3 is his favorite movie!?”

            “Troy, he’s not racist and I would like to think I have enough sense and taste to not date a guy who thinks Spiderman 3 is even a mediocre film.”

            “It’s not Tobey McGuire’s fault that he had an awesome franchise that was inevitably destroyed by a horrible finale.” Abed commented.

            “Anyway!” Annie said, “I want you guys to be on your best behavior, I really like this guy.”

            “Well we already know that Britta’s not going to like him.” Abed said.

            “Why do you think that?” Britta asked.

            Abed shrugged, “Britta with your hipster mentality and inability to rant about any situation you’re sure to clash with Annie’s new boyfriend who is a lawyer. His personality should be pretty self-explanatory judging by his career. ”

            “Ewwww.” Britta exaggerates, “You’re dating some lawyer douche bag.”

            “Britta! He’s not a douche bag, he’s actually kind of sweet.” Annie says as a blush creeps on her cheeks after that final comment.

            Britta rolls her eyes and returns to reading her book. Annie moved to sit next to her and put on her best pouty face. “What do you want Annie?”

            “Please promise me you’ll give him a chance.”

            Britta pursed her lips and looked at Annie before sighing frustratedly, “Fine I’ll give your dumb boyfriend a chance.” Annie squealed and pulled Britta in for a soul-crushing hug. 

            On Thursday Jeff stared at the clock, waiting until he was able to leave the office. “Winger!” he looks up and sees Alan standing in the doorway.

            “Alan!” Jeff says almost sarcastic enough to be considered ecstatic to see this jerk.

            “A couple of guys and I are going out tonight, wanna come?”

            “As much as I’d love to,” Jeff lies, “I already have plans.”

            “That’s like the second time this week bro, are you dating someone?” Alan asks completely shocked.

            Jeff pauses and he thinks he can feel the beads of swear forming on his hairline. He swallows before he answers Alan’s question, “As a matter of fact I am.”

            “Who knew someone would be able to tie down the Wingman.” Alan laughs.

            “I’m not being tied down, I just have been on a couple of dates with this girl and we’re going out again tonight.” He decides to leave out the part about him meeting her friends, who Annie considers family, that night too.

            It takes him a few more minutes to wrap up his conversation with Alan before he finally leaves. Half an hour later he’s walking to his Lexus, he goes home and changes then promptly picks Annie up at 7:30 sharp.

            She’s wearing this strapless pink dress that comes just above her kneecaps and has a thin black belt that perfectly accentuates her tiny waist. It also does a pretty great job of showing off her cleavage, it’s tasteful but edgy and Jeff loves it. He helps her into his Lexus and he begins to drive towards Shirley’s.

            “You haven’t told me her name yet.” Annie says.

            Jeff almost slams on his breaks, what was she referring too? She was the only girl he had shown interest in the past couple of weeks they had been dating. Well he did flirt with that girl at Starbucks the other morning but he instantly remembered that he was seeing somebody and it stopped immediately, “What are you talking about? You’re the only girl I’ve been dating recently.” He says quickly.

            She laughs, “No Jeff, I meant what’s the name of your car? A person who goes to this much trouble to make sure his car doesn’t have one smudge of dirt on it must have named it.”

            He relaxes in his seat before answering, “She doesn’t have a name. She’s just my Lexus not my pet.”

            “Oh come on Jeff, it has to have a name.”

            “No it doesn’t, it’s ridiculous.” Jeff says poignantly.

            “I named my car, does that make me ridiculous?” Jeff glances over at the passenger seat and sees that her lips have formed a straight line and she’s glaring at him with her big blue eyes.

            “What’s your car’s name?”

            “Her name is Padme.” She says proudly. She bought her little red Mazda right after she moved in with Troy and Abed and they helped her name it. But in front of Jeff she was going to take full credit for naming her car.

            “I did not pick you out to be a Star Wars nerd Miss. Edison.” He teases.

            “Anyone who doesn’t like Star Wars is a complete moron Jeff.” He nods in response, “So what are we going to name your car? A grey Lexus.” He pulls up to a red light and watches her while she thinks about the perfect name for his car.

            “Inferno?” she suggests and Jeff shakes his head.

            “Oh how about the Phantom?” she says ecstatic, he shoots it down again.

            “Mirage?”

            “Annie that has got to be the lamest name for a car I’ve ever heard.”

            “Well I can’t help it you’re picky! You should have named it long before I showed up, it’s your duty as a car owner.” She huffs before leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms. She is still thinking about a name when they pull up to Shirley’s. “I’ve got it!” she exclaims as Jeff parks his car, “What about the Falcon?”

            “Hm.” Jeff says, “I like it.”

            “So it’s settled, your Lexus shall forever be known as ‘The Falcon’” She giggles as she gets out of the car. Shirley, a friend of Annie’s and owner of the bar closed for the evening to host Troy’s birthday dinner. She and Jeff walk into Shirley’s together and Jeff is quickly introduced to everyone. “Hey, where’s Britta?” Annie asks Troy.

            “Running a little late.” Troy tells her.

            Annie sees Abed walk up to Jeff and he offers his hand out, “According to social conventions you’re supposed to shake hands when you meet someone.” Jeff gives him a strange look at first but shakes his hand anyway. “It’s nice to see you in places other than my apartment.”

            “Oh my!” Shirley says.

            “No not like that,” Jeff says, “I’ve just been walking her to the door when I drop her off and stuff.” But Shirley raises an eyebrow at him and mouths ‘I’m watching you boy’ before walking back towards the bar.

            “Look Jeff, I’ve known Annie for a long time. She’s a nice girl.” Abed said to Jeff.

            “She’s a very nice girl,” Jeff emphasizes, his eyes search the room and they lock with Annie’s and he gives a small smile. Abed pauses and looks at the glances between the two and contemplates what it means before he continued.

            “One thing you’ll find out about me is that I’m not very good at receiving social queues and I don’t often think about how what I say affects other people.” Jeff nodded at Abed’s confession, “And at this moment I don’t care how what I say affects you.” He said, “I care about Annie. And you should know that if you do anything to hurt or upset her, everyone in this room will tar and feather you.”

            Jeff’s eyes widened and his throat felt so big he had to swallow, “Annie really seems to like you, and if she likes you… Then we do too. So welcome to the group Jeff, do you want some punch?”

            Jeff isn’t sure how to react to this kid but he smirks and says, “Yeah, I’d love some.” So Abed hands him a glass of punch and they sat there in comfortable silence drinking a beverage for fifth graders.

            Well it was comfortable until Jeff heard a familiar voice, that wasn’t Annie’s, call out his name. He turned and he saw Britta Perry, who isn’t a total stranger to him, standing in the doorway. In that moment Jeff felt a weight that crushed his chest, because he had the gnawing feeling that his relationship with Annie was over.

 

AN: hehe chapter three will finish Troy’s birthday and we’ll get more background on this AU’s version of Jeff and Britta’s past.

 


	3. The Family (cont.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of Troy's birthday party.

What I’ve Been Looking For:  
Chapter 3:

Jeff felt his heart pounding when he saw the smirk that appeared on Britta Perry’s face. “Oh do you guys know each other?” Annie says pointing at the two of them.  
“Yeah. We do.” Britta said. “Annie can we talk alone for a minute?”  
“Oh um sure!” Annie and Britta walked to Shirley’s office and Abed followed soon after.  
“So Jeff,” Troy begins, “What are your opinions on Spiderman 3?”  
Jeff is still staring at the door Annie and Britta disappeared behind before he answers, “Talk about embarrassing.”  
Troy let out a sigh of relief, “Good, we had to make sure you weren’t a moron.”   
“A moron? Troy have you seen his stupid hair cut?” Pierce said but the insult didn’t go through Jeff, he was too busy worrying about other things.  
Back in Shirley’s office Britta was saying to Annie, “I thought you said he wasn’t a douchebag.”  
“I mean he’s kind of an asshole in some respects but he’s not a douchebag.”  
“Annie, a guy like that is only going to use you for sex and then move on to the next piece of meat he can find.”  
“What do you have against him, how do you know Jeff?” Annie asks her.  
Britta, not wanting to hurt Annie because she knows how fragile Annie can be when she likes a new guy, finally says, “I’ve slept with him.” Annie’s eyes widened, “It was just a one night stand a couple of years ago when I got out of school.”  
“Another plot twist.” Abed says looking at the two women.  
Annie straightens her cardigan, “It’s okay Britta, I know Jeff’s never been the type of relationship guy. And I’m sure you both have moved on.”  
“Wait, you’re going to be okay?” Britta asked.  
“Yeah!” Annie smiled.  
“But seriously I’m just warning you this guy is only going to leave you hanging up to dry.”  
Annie was trying her best not to overreact and as she was about to counter Britta’s accusation Abed stepped in, “No I don’t see that happening.”  
“Abed,” Britta began, “He’s a commitmentphobe and an asshole, how could this not end badly?”  
“Britta, I may not know him very well but I know characters like him in shows. Like Barney in How I Met Your Mother, he’s this commitmentphobe jerk until he meets Robin and it changes everything.”  
“Real life is not TV Abed.” Britta said.  
“Yeah but guys who only want to use you and leave you don’t look at you the way Jeff looks at Annie.”  
Annie’s eyes shot up at Abed, “He… Looks at me different?”  
“Yes.” Is all Abed says before leaving the office.  
Annie and Britta stand there awkwardly before Britta says, “Annie, if you’re willing to give this guy a chance then… I will too. But if he does anything to hurt you we’re going to hang him from the City flagpole by his underwear.”  
Annie laughed, “Alright, fair enough.”  
They both walked out of the office and back into the bar. Jeff shot up from his seat and walked over to Annie as Britta passed them both, “Annie, I can explain.”  
She smiles coyly and placed a hand on his chest, “You don’t need to. What you and Britta did a couple of years ago is none of my business. It was before we met and I’m not judging you for it.” He smiles down at her thankful that she wasn’t upset. He could still tell that it bothered her, but he would bring it up again later if it continued bothering her. Maybe he would also bring up the fact that she was practically his girlfriend and they might as well start saying the word because it doesn’t bother him so much anymore.   
“Come on,” she took his and pulled it towards two empty chairs at the long table, “It’s time to cut the cake!”  
Jeff looks at square chocolate cake with white letters that read, “Hello during a random dessert at a random party that coincidentally coincides with the expulsion from a uterus”  
“Uhhhhhhh.” Jeff begins.  
“Troy is a Jehovah’s Witness, they don’t celebrate Christmas or Birthdays so Shirley and I tried to be as subtle as possible with the cake decorating.” Annie tells him.  
“Thanks so much you guys,” Troy tells them, “My mom’s weeping in Georgia as we speak.”  
“Oh that’s nice.” Shirley says in her high-pitched voice.  
“Troy do you want the corner piece?” Britta asks as she begins to cut the cake.  
“Nah you can give it to Abed, I know that’s his favorite part.”  
“Thanks Troy.” Abed said.  
“Also we figured out that Jeff isn’t a moron, he said Spiderman 3 was an embarrassment.” Troy said to Abed.  
“Good, I was dissolving some conflict and was worried I wouldn’t be able to get a good read on his characterization.”   
“Guys he’s sitting right here!” Annie chirped.  
Abed took a bit out of the birthday cake, “Mmm, this is really good Shirley is it chocolate buttercream?”  
“Yes it is, I thought it would be a nice change from the regular vanilla icing.” Shirley turned to Jeff; “Jeffery would you like a piece of cake.”  
Usually Jeff wouldn’t accept a piece of cake, you know because carbs, but this woman had given him the stink eye earlier and told him that she was ‘watching him’ whatever that meant so he graciously took a piece and ate every single bite.  
Later after Pierce choked on a piece of cake and Troy, eating too much cake and getting sick it was time for them to go home.   
As they were driving home in ‘The Falcon’ Jeff turned to Annie and said, “Well that was an adventure.”  
She giggled and played with the end of her skirt, “Yeah they can get a little crazy… I’m sorry if they freaked you out, they can be very protective.”  
“I can tell.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw her tense up a little, “That’s not a bad thing, it means they really care about you.”  
She relaxed again, “Yeah and they seemed to really like you!”  
“I hope so, if I’m going to be around a while it’d be awkward if they hated me.”  
It was quiet for a moment before Annie spoke, “You plan on being around for a while?” He stopped at the red light right before the turn into her apartment complex and he looks over and sees that her face has lit up with this small reassuring smile.  
Jeff looked back at his steering wheel, “If that’s ok with you.”  
“Sounds great to me.” He hears her say as he starts to drive again.  
When they arrive at her apartment they’re about to get out of the car when Jeff blurts out, “I’m sorry about Britta.”  
“Why are you sorry?” she asked.  
“Look Annie, I know I told you I wasn’t a relationship kind of guy and that’s true but that’s because I’ve never met a person who made me want to try. I had that fling with Britta a couple of years ago and I know it probably makes you feel uncomfortable but I want you to know you don’t have to because you’re the only person I’ve been serious about and a blast from my past isn’t going to change that.”   
Jeff stared wide eyed at Annie before she placed her hand over his, “I’ll have to admit it was a little unnerving when Britta told me but like I said before… You didn’t know that years later you would be dating her friend. So I’m okay, we all have skeletons in our closets that eventually come back to haunt us. Don’t worry about it Jeff, seriously, I’m fine.” She smiled and unbuckled her seatbelt so she could lean across the car and kiss him.  
His hands are instantly tangled up in her hair as she’s leaning closer into him. Neither of them remembers how she ended up in his lap but then again they didn’t really care. They both taste like chocolate buttercream and their hands are exploring new territory, Annie’s hands over his chest and Jeff’s hands roaming her back. Annie breaks away for a moment and Jeff is looking at her pink cheeks and messy hair and she’s so gorgeous.  
He licked his lips before pulling her back down for another kiss, this time it’s not as heated but just as passionate. He’s starting to taste the chocolate buttercream again when a tap on the car window startles both of them and Annie jumps so high her head hits the ceiling of the car.  
“Ow!” Annie shrieked and she rubbed the top of her head.  
“Are you ok?” Jeff reached up and felt the knot forming on her head. They both looked out the window and saw Abed. They heard his muffled voice say, “Are you guys coming upstairs or…?”  
Jeff can see Abed looking at Annie and although he didn’t see her face he can sense the look on her face was enough to send Abed running away. She turned back to Jeff with a nervous smile, “Well I guess this is goodnight.”  
“You sure you’re okay? That feels like a really big knot.” He tells her.  
“Oh it’ll be fine after I put some ice on it.”   
“Okay,” Jeff smiles pulling a stray hair behind her ear, “Goodnight milady.”  
Annie leaned in further so their lips were practically touching, “Goodnight milord.” Jeff closed the gap between them for a chaste goodnight kiss. She climbed out of the car and he watched her walk up the stairs to her apartment before he turned his car on again and drove home.


	4. Twelve Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff discovers the age difference between he and Annie and has a bit of a meltdown

What I’ve Been Looking For

 

AN:

I know Annie handled that surprisingly well in the last chapter but I’d like to think in this AU Annie is quite mature for her age. She’s an adult who understands that what’s past is in the past… not the present if ya feel me. Personality wise someone asked what season this would be filed under and I’d have to guesstimate around season 4. I didn’t really think about that until you asked so thanks for asking.

As always favs, follows, reviews are appreciated

Thanks,

Tay

 

            They’re at dinner one Friday night when they’ve been dating a little over three months when Jeff says, “I didn’t expect your roommates to be so young. What are they like twenty one or twenty two?” A couple of days before then, Abed had celebrated his birthday exactly two months after Troy’s.

            Annie laughed, “Why does that shock you?”

            Jeff shrugged his shoulders; “I don’t know I guess I just thought you’d be rooming with people your own age.”

            He’s moving his food around his plate with his fork when he glances up and see’s her reaction. Her brow is furrowed and her smile is crooked, “Jeff… You know I’m twenty two right?”

            “B-B-But that would mean that… we’re?”

            “Twelve years apart.” She says as if it’s no big deal, but to Jeff it is in fact _a very big deal._

            He instantly starts sweating and his heart starts racing because how fucking creepy is that!? He thought she was at least twenty-six the way she carried herself. And most people with the job she had were at least in their late twenties or early thirties and he just assumed. “Jeff, are you okay?” Annie asks.

            “I need some air.” He says instantly getting up from the table because there is a big difference between being eight years and twelve years apart.

            She touches his hand, “Jeff, really it’s ok we can talk about this just sit back down.”

            She can see that his chest is heaving frantically and she can feel how clammy his hands have gotten. But he doesn’t calm down, “I need some air.” He says again and walks right out of the restaurant leaving Annie alone.

            That’s the part when Annie starts freaking out because what had she done wrong? It wasn’t her fault that she wasn’t born a couple of years sooner, and in the two months she had been dating Jeff her life had changed for the better. She had been dealing with a lot of stress at work and she had been having a hard time focusing on the endless pile of paperwork that she briefly considered finding a way to get Adderall again. And when she was sitting at the restaurant just waiting for Vaughn to show up she had the craving to take pills again, but as soon as Jeff Winger appeared before her that yearning for Adderall vanished.

            So Annie paid for dinner, grabbed her coat and started walking towards Shirley’s.

            Jeff on the other hand was driving around downtown Denver trying to argue with himself. “You are an idiot Jeff Winger.” He was yelling himself, “How did you not know there was a twelve year gap between you and Annie?” He’s hitting his steering wheel when he’s sitting at a red light and that’s when he decides to pick up his cell phone and call the only person he thinks can help him.

            After a few rings someone picks up, “Hello,”

            He takes a deep breath at the sound of her voice, “Mom? It’s Jeff.”

            “Jeffery!” She exclaims, “Is something wrong dear? You sound a little put out.”

            He is more than just a little put out but he tells her, “I… I think things between Annie and I are done.” His mother proceeds to ask why, “I just found out that I’m twelve years older than her.”

            “And?” Is all his mother says.

            “And…. That’s a pretty big age gap.” He chuckles under his breath.

            “Dear if we let something as little as age stop us from finding love than we all would be alone. You can make the decision for yourself but I see no reason as to why you have to break things off with Annie. You talk about her so often and she’s the only girl you’ve ever been serious about… Jeffery what I’m saying is I would hate it if you threw it all away over something as small as a number.” He talks to his mother a little bit more before hanging up. He continues driving because he’s still at loss of what he should do, so the only thing he can do is drive until his brain decides what it wants him to do.

            “Can I have a Cosmo?” Annie asks as she sits down at the bar at Shirley’s. She leans her head on her hand and her thoughts begin to wander as Neal starts to make her drink.

            “What do you have on your mind tonight Annie?” he asks.

            “Nothing really,” She lied.

            Neal shook his head, “No I know you Annie Edison, who’s upset you? You know I could get Leonard and the kitchen crew to beat whoever they are up.”

            “Damn right!” the old guy, Leonard, says a few seats away. He’s got his glass raised towards Annie which makes her smile a little bit because should a guy his age really be drinking that much???

            “Thanks guys but that’s not necessary. I just, I’m a mess and I thought I could make something work when in the back of my mind I knew it wouldn’t.”

            Neal placed the drink in front of her, “This one’s on me ok?”

            “Ok,” she smiles a little bit before gulping the whole thing down and ordering two more. She needed to distract herself with something because the way her mind was roaming she felt the sudden urge to find pills. She downed the other two and laid her head on the bar and closed her eyes because the room was starting to spin. She thought she might have fallen asleep for a few minutes when a jacket was placed over her shoulders. “I’m sorry,” she hears when she jerks up to see Jeff.

            “I’m sorry Annie, I’m the biggest idiot ever for walking out on you like that. I just didn’t realize how far apart we were in age and it freaked me out.” He continues rambling as she’s thinking about how him being there means they’re not done.

            “How did you find me,” she interrupts in the middle of his apologetic rant.

            “Well I went back to the restaurant to see if you were still there and then I went to that coffee shop on 19th before realizing you had probably come here for an appletini.”

            She smiles and slurs, “I got a Cosmo fyi.”

            “Like there’s a difference.” He rolls his eyes turning to Neal and asking for a single malt scotch.

            She launches herself at him and squeezes her arms around his neck. She felt like crying because she was so happy he had come to find her. He’s frozen for about two seconds before wrapping his arms around her waist, squeezing her just as hard. They both would have agreed that they could have stayed like that forever, just squeezing each other as if they were the only people in the universe.

            Jeff released her and her feet hit the floor. He can smell the alcohol on her breath and decides to cancel his drink; he needed to take her home. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

            She’s got her hands wrapped around one of his arms when she lets out, “No, I don’t want to go home.”

            He laughs because tipsy Annie is giddy and sleepy at the same time. “Where do you want to go?”

            “Welllllllll,” she begins batting her eyelashes at him and he laughs again, “Your apartment’s not far from here right?”

            He stops in the doorway of Shirley’s and contemplates about what she means by that. Jeff looks back at Annie and she’s still batting her eyelashes and pleading at him with those big blue eyes. “Alright, I’ll take you to my apartment.”

            “YAY!” She squeals almost too loud and she stumbles a little bit falling back into Jeff.

            He hadn’t taken care of a drunken person since law school so this was going to be quite interesting. But he had to make sure she was all right? He couldn’t imagine Troy or Abed keeping a close watch on her incase she got alcohol poisoning. So he let her climb into the passenger side of the falcon and he drove a couple of blocks up the street until they landed in the parking lot of his apartment complex.

           


	5. Little Annie Adderall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little background info on this AU's Annie Edison

What I’ve Been Looking For

 

AN:

Thanks again for the reviews, favs and follows!

 

Chapter 5: Little Annie Adderall

 

            The smell of freshly ground coffee stirred Annie awake. ‘That was sweet of Abed,” she thought, he knew just how she liked her coffee and sometimes would get it started for her on the days she slept in. She groaned and rolled over to cuddle a cool pillow. She had a splitting headache and opened her eyes to see that she wasn’t in her apartment.

            Annie looked down and saw that she was just wearing a Denver Broncos shirt that was way too big for her. 10,000 possibilities popped into her head at once because the last thing she remembered was Jeff showing up at Shirley’s and telling her that he would be taking her home. So what happened between then and this morning she didn’t know. He must have dropped her off and she must have snuck out but where was she? She wasn’t somewhere… Dirty. I mean there was some clothes scattered around the room but overall the bedroom was quite clean.

            Relief settled in when she looked at the door to the bedroom and saw Jeff leaning against the frame, “Good morning.”

            “Oh thank God.” She said rubbing her eyes, “I can’t remember anything from last night.”

            She looked up and saw Jeff’s smile growing wider, “You don’t?”

            Annie plopped herself back on the bed, “Oh no,” she groaned, “What did I do?”

            He lay down next to her softly chuckling, “Nothing too ridiculous, you just begged me to take you to my apartment then you attempted to seduce me before puking everywhere.”

            Annie uncovered her eyes and looked wide-eyed at Jeff, “I got sick? I only had three cosmos?”

            “Well now I know your limit.” He joked.

            “What else happened?” she asked.

            Jeff stopped smiling, “Nothing,” he lied.

***

            When Jeff had opened the door to his apartment Annie threw her purse on the couch and before Jeff could even put his keys on the counter she was frantically kissing him. Her mouth was pressed harder against his and it was probably the sloppiest kiss she’d ever given him before he pushed her off of him, “Slow down,” he joked.

            Annie had given him more than just a few hints as to why she wanted to go back to his apartment in the car but he didn’t imagine her being this straightforward. He realized how drunk she was and knew that sleeping together would be a horrible idea so Jeff planned to let her down gently.

            That’s when he noticed that she has a very different look on her face, “Jeff,” she begins, “I think I’m about to get sick.” He doesn’t even need to tell her where the bathroom is because she finds it herself. Jeff hears her throwing up from down the hall; he walked into the bathroom and searched one of the cabinets until he found a spare toothbrush.

            When she thought she was done Annie lifted her head and looked up at him, looking completely helpless. Jeff knelt down next to her and used one of her hair ties to keep the hair out of her face. “Thanks,” she muttered before turning back and throwing up a few more times, all while Jeff patted her back trying to give her what little comfort he could.

            “You done?” he asked.

“I think so,” she mumbled before Jeff handed her the toothbrush and slowly she began to brush her teeth while still sitting on the bathroom floor. “I’ll be right back,” he told her.

Jeff went back to his kitchen and poured a tall glass of water for her. When he came back to the bathroom she had stopped brushing her teeth and was now crying on the bathroom floor. “Annie?”

“I’m sorry,” she cried, “This is so gross and disgusting, I should have let you take me home so you wouldn’t see me like this.”

“See you sick?” He smirked and sat down next to her. She was still intoxicated so Jeff thought he should take what she says with a grain of salt.

“I bet none of the other girls who wanted to see your place ever threw up in your bathroom. I’m so gross and disgusting,” she started crying even more, “And now, you’re never going to want to have sex with me.”

Whatever he said didn’t seem to faze her because she was still crying. So Jeff decided that since she was done being sick (for now at least) he should move her somewhere that wasn’t the bathroom floor. “I almost messed up tonight, and I almost went back.” She said changing into the t-shirt Jeff had pulled from one of his drawers.

“Back?” he asked closing his eyes and trying to help her find the arms holes.

“I’ve been so stressed out lately and when Jeff left tonight I almost went back to being Annie Adderall.” She laid down and Jeff covered her with the sheets. “I was doing so good too, I hadn’t thought about pills in years. Not since my parents kicked me out after rehab-”

“Annie,” Jeff interrupted her. Drunk Annie was starting to tell him some really personal stuff that Sober Annie was probably waiting to tell him. And Jeff was willing to wait until Annie felt comfortable telling him all of that stuff just like he was waiting for the right moment to tell her about his baggage. “It’s getting really late.”

Her tears had dried and she smiled at him, “Go to sleep,” Jeff leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

He started walking toward the door when he heard her say, “Wait… Where are you going?”

“I’m going to sleep on the couch,”

“But what if I get sick again and you don’t hear me?” Even drunk Annie knew she could win him over with her big blue eyes. It was her secret weapon, he thought as she batted her eyelashes beckoning him to come towards her.

He had never been one for cuddling, after sex or not, he just wasn’t a cuddler. But when he laid down next to Annie and looped one arm around her waist he felt somewhat complete. She was warm and her head fit perfectly against his chest and he thought that maybe she could hear how fast his heart beating.

“Jeff?” Annie whispered.

“Hm?”

“Would you still love me even if I was Annie Adderall?” The question threw him off. He wasn’t sure if he did love her but then again there wasn’t a single person alive who he would do anything for. Jeff also didn’t know what being ‘Annie Adderall’ meant but he assumed from what she had said she had some sort of pill addiction that led to her being kicked out of her parents house.

All he could do was give her a small squeeze and say, “Of course I would,” because even though he doesn’t know if he’s in love with her yet, Jeff did know that whatever he felt wouldn’t change by whatever baggage she was carrying.

“Jeff?” she murmured again.

“Yeah.”

“Thank you,” was all she mumbled before Jeff felt her relaxing against him. It wasn’t long before her soft snores indicated that she was asleep and Jeff soon followed after.

He had gotten up a little earlier than usual simply because he had to shower before she woke up _and_ he had to figure out what he was going to feed her. She was probably going to be hung-over and he searched his fridge and found some eggs and a little bit of bacon that he would make when she finally stirred awake.

***

“Nothing,” he lied. He didn’t want to let her know anything about what she had told him last night. They were her secrets, and he could be patient enough to wait until she was comfortable telling him. He leaned forward and kissed his lips, she let out a little giggle when he broke away. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving!”

He held his hand out for her to grab, “Well then, Milady.”

“Milord,” She smiled taking it and following him to the kitchen where he cooked scrambled eggs and she sat at the counter watching him. She looked around the apartment; it was the typical ‘single man’ pad with a big TV and some less than tasteful art hanging from the walls. One thing did stand out to her above everything else, “No pictures?”

“What?” he said while stirring the eggs around on the pan.

“You don’t have pictures around your apartment.”

“Oh yeah,” he shrugs still stirring the yolks on the pan, “I’ve never been a big picture guy.” Jeff admitted. “I think I have one of my Mom I took last Christmas lying around somewhere.”

“You don’t have one of you dad?” Annie knew she was prying but it was nice getting to know this side of Jeff… a side neither of them really talked about.

He tensed up a little bit when he placed the eggs and bacon on both of their plates. “My dad… Left when I was just a kid. I haven’t talked to him since and I don’t want to.” He slid the plate over to her and sat down.

“Jeff, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Why was she apologizing? Going by what she told him last night she had it pretty rough too when it concerned her parents. “Don’t be,” he smiled, “It’s just a part of my past, nothing more or less than that.” They sat there together at the bar eating their breakfast for the first of many times.

Afterwards Annie leaned her head on his shoulder, “That was delicious.”

“Yeah I’m going to have to run six miles to burn off all the carbs I just consumed.” Annie rolled her eyes and walked to the bathroom. “Jeff,” she called, “Do you mind if I take a shower?”

“What? Just because you spend the night you think that means you have the privilege of taking a shower here?” He was joking with her but all he heard was her sarcastic rebuttal, “ _the privilege_? Really Jeff?” He grabbed his keys and walked into the bathroom to unlock his shampoo, conditioner and body soap from the safe.

“You keep all of your toiletries in a safe?” she asked.

“Yeah, I don’t like people looking at my stuff when they come over.” She gave him a small smile before he left her. He looked around his drawers and found another t-shirt that was too small for him now that she could wear until he dropped her back off at her apartment. He heard the water go off about fifteen minutes later when he was almost done making up the bed.

He felt her tiny arms wrap around him, despite using his shampoo she still smelled like lavender. “Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he smirked and leaned down to kiss her. Her usual taste of cinnamon had turned minty from his toothpaste. His hand cupped her cheek and pulled her mouth even closer than it already was. It was small kisses like that that made Jeff want to jump out of his skin. Her tiny mouth controlling his with every motion she made almost made him wish that they could stay that way forever.

She put on the green t-shirt Jeff had found for her and the skinny jeans she wore last night. She didn’t feel like going home and he didn’t feel like taking her home so they settled spending their Saturday afternoon at the mall.

They were at Banana Republic when Jeff spent a little too much time gazing at his reflection, “You have achieved a miraculous level vanity Jeff Winger.” Annie laughed.

“What? I have to make sure it looks good with different levels of tucking and pulling.” The more he defended himself the more ridiculous he seemed to Annie. She rolled her eyes and muttered, “You’re starting to make me hate shopping.”

Jeff took one last look in the mirror before announcing, “Alright, I’m getting it.” Annie cheered victorious as he walked back to the dressing room, “I’m sorry Miss. Edison I didn’t realize making myself look good would be such a burden on you.”

She laughed and continued mocking him for his vanity. When they left the store hand in hand they were talking about where they should go next when Annie tensed up. “What’s wrong?” Jeff asked.

Annie shook her head, “It’s nothing, just some people I knew in high school.” Jeff looked over at the group of guys who were walking toward them. “Let’s keep going.” She squeezed his hand.

But they were too late because the three guys were right in front of them, “Hey is that you Annie?” One of them said.

“Hey Zach,” She smiled nervously.

“Hey guys check it out Annie Adderall got hot,” Annie felt like running away at that moment but she noticed Jeff tense up.

“Excuse me?” He said. “What did you call her?”

“Jeff it’s ok-” Annie said but Jeff interrupted her, “No Annie it is not ok, I’ll ask again, what did you call her?”

The other guys were laughing, “Annie Adderall, that’s what we called her in high school.”

That was when Jeff reached up and grabbed the guy by his shirt and yanked him towards him, “Call her that again and I’ll make you regret it.” Jeff pushed him away and pulled Annie with him as he began to walk away.

“What are you, her father?”

Jeff paused before turning around and punching him square in the face causing a possible broken nose, “No, I’m her boyfriend.” Was all he said before walking back over to where Annie was, her mouth gaping open.

“Jeff,” Annie said after they had walked a safe distance away from the crowd that had formed around Zach and his bloody nose.

“No Annie, it’s definitely not ok.” Jeff said very irritated because how dare she take that kind of ridicule from people so below her.

“I was going to say thank you,” She smiled at him and he couldn’t help but smile back. They sat down in the food court and Annie decided to tell him about how her parents pressured her to be perfect in high school that she had developed an addiction to Adderall that subsequently caused her to drop out of high school and go to rehab. While she was in rehab she met her friend Shirley, a volunteer, who convinced her to get her GED and enroll at college where she met Troy and Abed. Once she got out of rehab and went home her parents, they were disgraced by her behavior and subsequently kicked her out. She lived with Shirley for a couple of months before Troy and Abed asked her to live with them.

Jeff listened until she was done and opened up about his past and issues he had with his father. And how he had a therapist for the past couple of years to help him overcome some of his insecurities. She listened to him as he had listened to her and they accepted each other’s flaws. The fear of not being heard by one another was gone in that moment.


	6. Monogamy is Only Slightly Realistic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie gets jealous when Jeff goes on a date with someone else.

WIBLF 6

AN:

And last chapter I wanted to have a scene similar to the debate episode where Jeff defended Annie’s honor to that guy from City College who sang that offensive song to her.

Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks,

Tay

 

Chapter Six: Monogamy is Only Slightly Realistic

            Annie arrived at the law firm about twenty minutes before their scheduled lunch date. “Yes,” she said to the receptionist, “I’m here to see Jeff Winger.”

            “Personal or Professional business ma’am.”

            Annie smiled, “Personal.”

            The receptionist responded sluggishly, “Yes, well Mr. Winger has not yet returned from the court house. But you’re welcome to wait in his office if you want. Third door on the right when you get to the second floor.”

            Annie had never been inside Jeff’s office before, most of the time when she got there he was already in the front lobby waiting for her. Then they’d walk a few blocks to this café that Annie just adored. So she was kind of excited to see what his office looked like.

            It wasn’t completely disappointing. The office had a nice view of the park and had two tall mahogany bookshelves with books Annie is 100% Jeff has never touched. There’s a desk near the window with a couple of files and his Mac sitting on top. She sat down in his swirly chair that was really too big for her and giggled as she twirled around in it, because why not? That was when she noticed a single picture frame on the far edge of his desk. It was an average size picture frame painted red with a photo of Jeff and Annie in it.

            She remembered him telling her almost a month prior, “I’ve never been a big picture guy,” and seeing a picture of her on his desk at work made her smile.

            It was a picture of her smiling at him while they were at this concert for Sting he had gotten tickets to. It was a fun night, she remembered the way he wrapped his arms around her from behind and swayed along with the music. She remembered him pulling out his phone and taking a selfie of them, she thought he was going to post it on instagram or facebook but he never did. He was saving it for his desk.

            Annie recalled leaving the concert a few minutes early to beat traffic because honestly they couldn’t take another minute of not having their hands all over each other. They stumbled into Jeff’s apartment discarding their clothes across the living room until they made it to his bedroom.

            He was kissing that spot on her neck that drove her crazy when she moaned out his name. She could feel him smirking against her neck as he held their bodies together. Out of all of the times Jeff or Annie had, had sex, this was the first time either of them had ‘made love’. Although Jeff didn’t know it yet, Annie knew she was in love with Jeff. Somehow between their accidental meeting and a Sting concert she had fallen in love with him.

            She was just waiting to see if he was in love with her too.

            Annie was holding the picture when Jeff entered his office; “Hey!” he smiled and leaned down to kiss her, “Sorry I was running a little late. My client wouldn’t stop rambling about his dog and when he asked me what my lunch plans were I ran over here.”

            “It’s ok,” she giggled, “You’re not too late. Plus I got to see you’re office for the first time so I’ll let you being late slide.” Annie winked at him putting the picture back down on the desk. He picked it up after her and smiled at it before placing it back in its original spot.

            “Oh yeah, this is the first time you’ve actually been in here.” He was still smiling at her, “Well… Do you like it?”

            She smiled crookedly, “Not too shabby, although I must admit you have an impeccable collection of books.”

            “Oh yeah,” he smiled leaning against his desk, “I’ve only skimmed like three of them.”

            “I wouldn’t expect anything less of you,” he smiled at her comment and held out his arm, “To lunch? Milady.”

            “Yes, milord.” She smiled and took his arm, and the two walked out of his firm and down the street to the little café. They had a pleasant lunch ending with a goodbye kiss and promises to call each other later. Annie headed back to the Lab where she conducted two autopsies that caused her to work over an extra three hours for the day.

            Exhausted and too hungry to go out with her co-workers she drove home thinking about plopping down on the couch and turning on a rerun of Mad Men. Instead when she opened the door she saw Jeff and Abed playing video games on _her_ couch. The couch she wanted to lay on and watch John Hamm seduce 1950’s house wives!

            “Hey… guys.” Annie thought back to lunch and she didn’t remember she and Jeff making plans.

            “Hey,” they both said. Jeff didn’t sound pissed so… what was he doing here? Playing video games with Abed… for fun?

            “What are you doing?” She pressed onward, “Did you swing by to see me?”

            “No, I invited him over,” Abed said, “We’re playing the new Dragon Age and it’s even better than either of us could have hoped for.”

            “Yeah it’s awesome,” Jeff said still staring at the television screen.

“With Troy being out of town I wanted to play the multiplayer levels with someone.”

“We’re thinking about ordering out later. We’ll let you know before we call it in okay?” Jeff said. She mumbled an ok then walked into her room.

            It was nice that Abed and Jeff were becoming friends but she couldn’t deny that being blown off like that hurt her feelings a little. Not that they had made any plans and not that when Jeff had to be over it was all about spending time with her. But five seconds ago she felt completely… irrelevant.

            When she was done pouting she grabbed her wii remote and went on Netflix and watched a couple of episodes of Mad Men before there was a light tapping on the door. “S’open.” She called.

            The door slowly opened and Jeff walked in with a bag of Chinese food. “I hope you don’t mind but I ordered for you… you always get the same thing.”

            She smiled wryly at him, “Teriyaki Chicken?”

            “With extra broccoli.” He handed it to her. After a moment of him just standing there she laughed, “You can sit down,”

            He shut the door behind him and slipped off his shoes before he sat next to Annie on her bed. “I thought you would be eating with Abed.” She didn’t mean to sound so salty but it just came out that way.

            “Annie Edison,” he was grinning, “Are you jealous of me and Abed?”

            Annie could feel a blush creep on her cheeks, “No,” she said quietly taking a bit of broccoli.”

            He was still chuckling to himself, “And I thought I was the jealous freak in our relationship but it turns out you don’t even want me to have friends.”

            Annie dropped her jaw, “That’s not true!” She slapped his chest when he continued to laugh at her, “I just would like to be acknowledged when I walk into my own apartment and my boyfriend is sitting on my couch.”

            “Alright next time I’ll pause the game and look at you,”

            “Thank you, I appreciate that.” He leaned forward and kissed her as Don Draper was kissing Betty on the tv in the background.

            They finished the episode as they ate their dinner when Jeff made the comment, “So… Yellow?” He was referring to the color of her walls. A Sunshine Yellow, at least that’s what home depot called it but it looked more like the color of a public school bus.

            “It came this way and the landlord won’t let us paint it.”

            “I like it.” He said after a few moments, “It’s very… Annie.”

            “Awe Thanks.” She said.

            Annie turned back to eating her last bite of chicken but Jeff was still looking at her. It was his ‘Annie’ look, as Abed had dubbed it, and that was when a small click in his brain came to the conclusion that he was… happy.

            Jeff Winger realized that if this is what monogamy was like with Annie Edison, eating Chinese food and watching quality television while still being able to talk, then he wanted to do it forever. It scared him… No it horrified him. “I never thought this was possible?”

            “What? Me letting you eat on my bed?”

            “No,” he smirked, “You and me, doing what we’re doing.” She didn’t say anything so he took a deep breath, “When my dad left my mom I didn’t see monogamy as a realistic option. But then I met you… and everything has changed.”

            She was smiling at him as he was struggling with what else to say to her, “What I’m trying to say is that… I- that I-I,” he swallowed as the words were about to tip off the edge of his tongue. But he was still a coward and said, “I’m really glad I met you Annie” Instead of what he was actually feeling.

            Annie’s heart sank a little but she leaned and kissed him anyway, he would say it when he was ready, so why rush it? Jeff put their dishes in the sink and played with Abed for another hour before he crawled back in bed with Annie.

            As the door was locked and their mouths were on each other, Jeff’s hands started taking off her shirt, “Hold on a second,” she said. Jeff leaned back and stared at her swollen lips, “You think I’m going to have sex with you when you were just on a date with Abed?”

            “Technically it wasn’t a date. I played video games with him and I ended up eating with you.”

            Jeff licked his lips as she was thinking of a way to reply; “Well I guess I can let you off the hook. But you’ve already had two strikes against you today. One more and you’re out.”

            She leaned in and pecked his lips causing Jeff to hum a reply in between kisses, “Do my strikes reset at midnight or every Sunday at five?”

            “It depends on how bad you are.” She giggled as he moved down to nip at her shoulder. He was sliding the sleeves of her tank top down as her hands delved into his hair.

            The next morning when Jeff woke up, staring at Annie Edison’s face he knew that although monogamy wasn’t a realistic option for anyone, a lifetime with Annie just might be the only option for him.

 

AN:

Sorry that was short and kind of a filler chapter. I think I figured out where I want this to go so hopefully you guys will stay tuned long enough until I finish it!

Thanks again! _Reviews, Favs and Follows are always appreciated._

Thanks,

Tay


	7. Chicken Noodle Soup and You

WIBLF 7:

            Late November had approached Jeff and for some reason his firm had been giving him a shit ton of cases. Not the easy ones either. So the few breaks he had were spent with Annie. Although she hadn’t moved into his apartment, she had a key and her clothes were hanging in his closet and scattered throughout his dresser.

            So Jeff could work quietly at his desk in his home office while Annie watched Breaking Bad in the other room. Every once in a while she’d bring him a nice hot cup of coffee (maybe a scotch if he was lucky) and gently rub his back to relieve some stress. He would rant and rave about the case while she sat there smiling at him. Then she’d tell him she was going to bed and no matter how much longer he knew he needed to work it wouldn’t be long before he was curling up next to her.

            “I just think Alan and Ted should cut me some slack,” he said one night, “I know they’ve been kind of pissed I’ve been blowing them off lately but I mean they’re jerks. Who wants to hang out with a bunch of jerks?” Annie shrugged taking a sip of the coffee she had made him. “I just want to do my work, come home, eat dinner with you then go to bed.” His tired eyes looked up at Annie, “Is that too much to ask?”

            She laughed as she sat on top of his desk, “Maybe you should have thought about that before you became a lawyer. Or before you befriended Ted and Alan.”

            Jeff groaned and plopped his head on top of her thighs, “I just want this month to be over with.”

            Annie ran her fingers through Jeff’s hair, “Then it’ll be December and that means Hanukkah and Christmas and New Years. It’ll be over before you know it.”

            He looks up at her from her thighs, “You know we don’t have to celebrate Christmas considering I’m agnostic.”

            “No it’s okay,” she said, “My mom’s Jewish and my dad was Christian so we always celebrated both before everything happened. And we’re going over to your mother’s on Christmas anyway so why not celebrate it?” That’s right, Christmas was a whole month and a half away and Jeff had already made plans for Annie to meet his mother on Christmas day. It still felt a little weird for Jeff to be making long term plans with a woman, but every time he thought that he looked at Annie and when she smiled all of those worries melted away.

            “My throat is feeling a bit sore I think I’m going to tuck in early.” She said leaning down to kiss his forehead.

            “Me too,” he said closing his laptop.

            “No!” She said, “Finish your work, then you can go to bed.” Annie pushed the screen to the MacBook open again. “Don’t forget to save,” she said kissing him again. This time Jeff held her in place by putting one of his hands on her lower back and the other clutching her cheek. His tongue begged entrance into her mouth as she settled into his lap. “You need to be working,” she said.

            “It can wait.” He said against her mouth.

            “No it can’t,” she said after kissing him again. Annie slowly got off of his lap and left his office, his eyes watching her the entire time. He looked over the files again and completed bits and pieces of his testimony before crawling up next to her.

            The next morning they both go through their routine, exchanging time in the bathroom and eating breakfast together. Her throat sounded a bit scratchy and she’s a little congested but that doesn’t stop her. “Maybe you should take some mucinex or something. At least take a Tylenol in case you get achy.” Jeff tells her as he ties his tie. He walks over to the table where she’s drinking her coffee and sits down next to her.

            “I don’t take pills Jeff.” Then he was reminded of her previous Adderall addiction, but mucinex and Adderall weren’t on the same level were they?

            “Why not? I understand your past with pills but isn’t mucinex different?” he asks.

            Annie shrugs, “After rehab they told me it would be ok to take things like that in small increments. But I don’t know,” she said taking another sip of her coffee, “It makes me nervous. I don’t want to depend on things like that again, you know? When you get addicted to stuff like that you lose people and I don’t want to lose my friends, you, you guys are all I have.”

            “You won’t have to,” he lifted her hand up and kissed it. “But we will be making a trip to a doctor if you don’t feel better.”

            She put on her best pouty face, “Fine.”

            They walked down to their cars, kissed each other good-bye and went their separate ways. He was in a meeting with Ted and Alan and they where telling him that December first through the fourth he would have to fly to Seattle in order to visit a witness. This upset him for two reasons, one; these guys were still piling shit on him and two he would be getting home the first night of Hanukah.

            Jeff never would have thought he would give a damn about any holiday, especially Hanukkah, well maybe Kwanza was above Hanukkah but you get the point. But that didn’t change the fact that it wasn’t fair. So Jeff smiles and tells them that he’s on it, like any good employee would.

            He’s sitting in his office, checking his twitter feed when he gets a call from Annie, “Hey,” he says.

            “I’m not interrupting anything important right?” her hoarsy voice replied.

            “No, I finished all of my meetings for the day. What are you doing?” he asked when he heard her cough in the background.

            “My boss is sending me home for the day. Said I can’t be around the subjects when I’m coughing like this, and he thinks I have a fever.” She coughed continuously throughout her explanation.

            Jeff closed his laptop and began putting it in his bag, “Alright I’m coming to get you.”

            “What?” she coughed, “No! You’re too busy.”

            Jeff rolled his eyes, “One, if you’re not going to take care of yourself who will?” Annie didn’t say anything, he could see her pouting and possibly rolling her eyes at him, “Two, I’m never too busy for you.”

            “Fine.” She said.

            “Good, I’ll be over there in fifteen.” Jeff said before hanging up. He went to his boss’s office and told him that since he was done with all of his meetings he’d prefer to finish his work at home. You know, to get away from office distractions. Surprisingly his boss allowed him and he left the office. “I should try that more often,” he mumbled to himself as he climbed inside of the Falcon.

            He pulled up to the lab and found Annie waiting for him inside of her car.   
“I’ll get Abed or Troy to drive out here with me later and we’ll get your car back.” He told her.

            “I could have driven myself home,” she complained.

            “We’re not going home,” he looked at the seat next to him and saw Annie glaring at him, “I’m taking you to the doc in a box.” Just as he expected Annie crossed her arms and groaned as she settled back into her seat. The American Family Care offices was not her favorite place in the world.

            When Annie was sick she was unusually quiet. She didn’t like arguing when she was sick, especially when it was with Jeff because she knew in the state she was in he’d probably win anyway. They sat in the back of the waiting room with Annie leaning her head on his shoulder, “If you get me sick I’m going to be very angry.” He mumbled.

            She weakly slapped his arm and he chuckled, “I’m kidding.” He said. He thought he heard her mumble, “you better be,” under her breath.

            The doctor told her that she had some sort of sinus virus and prescribed her an antibiotic. Annie talked briefly with the doctor about her past experience with pills and the doctor reassured her that she shouldn’t become addicted to her antibiotics in any way. It seemed like a stupid question, and Jeff could see she was kind of embarrassed when she asked the doctor but relief settled in her when he began to rub her back.

            Annie was glad she was able to be as open with Jeff as she was. She wouldn’t even talk to any of her friends about her former pill addiction. Annie didn’t want the people she loved giving her dirty looks. But Jeff never looked at her that way, he would smile maybe kiss her forehead, he would be gentle and loving about it and that made her happy.

            They picked up her medication from the pharmacy and made their way home. She was still sniffing and coughing all over everything when they got home, and she was exhausted. “I think I’m going to take a nap before dinner.” She said.

            Jeff got her glass of water and walked into his room to find her in just her underwear lying on top of the covers. “Aren’t you cold?” he chuckled.

            “No, it’s hot as hell in here.” She mumbled before dozing off.

            Jeff went back into his office and made a call to Shirley, “Hey, it’s Jeff.”

            “Oh hello Jeffery, to what do I owe the pleasure?” she answered in her oh so chirpy voice.

            “Annie’s sick, and I’m trying to take care of her. Only problem is I’ve never taken care of another human being in my life. I barely know how to take care of myself.”

            Jeff told Shirley she had some sort of bad cold and the doctor had prescribed her with some antibiotics, “I would recommend you getting her some chicken noodle soup and make sure she drinks plenty of water. She says she’s hot now? It’s possible she’ll get the chills later on make sure you have lots of blankets and such to keep her warm.”

            Jeff was frantically writing all of this down on a notepad as Shirley spoke, “Thanks Shirley! Anything else?”

            “Not that I can think of, call me back if you need me for anything.” With that they said their goodbyes. For a few minutes Jeff contemplated whether he should actually do the work he told his boss he would do or take a trip to the grocery store and possibly Annie’s apartment for the things she needed. He got up and peeked at her through the door. He could hear her soft snores, which indicated she would be asleep for quite some time.

            He took a pen and a sticky note and wrote a quick message and placed it next to the glass of water, kissed her forehead and went to his car.

            Jeff decided to go by Annie’s apartment first and get her some more clothes, her books and her blanket, “Where’s Annie?” Abed asked when Jeff walked into the living room. Annie had given him a key a few weeks ago so Abed wasn’t really surprised to see Jeff just waltz in like he owned the place.

            “She’s sick, I took her to the doctor and she’s taking a nap at my place.” He said grabbing one of her duffle bags from the closet. Jeff walked into Annie’s room with Abed following steadily behind him, “Do you know where Annie keeps her laptop charger?” He said looking around.

            “In the top drawer in her desk,” Abed said, “She doesn’t like the clutter.”

            Jeff opened the drawer and grabbed the charger then stuffed it into the duffle bag. He grabbed her blanket and her favorite pillow, and some extra clothes. “Can you think of anything else she might want?” He asked Abed.

            Abed quirked his mouth to the side and thought for a moment, he turned around and left Annie’s bedroom. He came back a few moments later with a DVD case, “This is her favorite movie to watch when she’s sick.”

            He handed the case to Jeff and Jeff let out a groan, “Really?”

            “The Breakfast Club is classic Jeff, although I feel like Ferris Bueller is a more ‘sick day’ appropriate movie.”

            Jeff shrugged and placed it into the bag, “Play it once and she’ll fall asleep after the credits.” Abed said, “Works every time.”

            “Ok, thanks Abed. I owe you and Shirley big time.”

            “What did Shirley do?” Abed asked.

            “Gave me some tips on how to actually take care of people… I’ve never really done it before.” He murmured.

            “I think it’s good for your character Jeff, it shows that your growing from your lonely bachelor lifestyle to one where you are happy sharing one with someone else.”

            “Abed, we’ve talked about this. I’m not a character in one of your tv shows.”

            Abed shrugged at Jeff and went back into the living room, Jeff knew Abed was a great judge of character. If he knew a person well enough, Abed could predict how they would react in certain situations and Jeff didn’t know if he admired that about Abed, or if it terrified him.

            Because Abed was right about Jeff, every reference to bachelor pigheaded lifestyle, Jeff knew he was right. Abed began to point out that Jeff was changing which made Jeff realize he was changing. Parts of him were happy, however the old Jeff Winger underneath it all wanted to run away and hide and maybe change the locks on his doors, or move out of his apartment. But he didn’t want to be like his dad.

            He didn’t want to abandon someone he cared about.

            Someone he loved.

            He contemplated all of this as he was driving home from Panera Bread. He had heard Annie mentioned that she liked the food there. So he got himself a salad with kale and some chicken noodle soup for Annie.

            When he opened the door to the apartment she was laying on the couch watching some old reruns of Americas Next Top Model. She lifted her head a little bit to catch a glimpse of him, “I got your note,” she smiled.

            Jeff laid the food on the counter and put the duffle bag on the floor next to the couch. He took her blanket out and laid it on her, “Better?” he said.

            “Better,” she smiled even bigger than before. He smiled his ‘Annie’ smile and kissed her forehead, “Damn, you’re burning up.”

            Despite the fact that she had a fever she insisted being bundled up underneath her blankets, only wearing an old t-shirt and a pair of Jeff’s boxers. He curled up next to her with his salad and handed Annie her soup, “Jeff Winger, are you letting me each _soup_ on your couch?” She put her hand over his forehead, “Are you sure _you’re_ not the one that’s sick?”

            He laughed, “No I’m not sick, you’re just special.”

            “Honey,” she said with a concerned look, “I’m worried about you.”

            Jeff laughed again, “Don’t be,” He turned away from the tv and looked at her. Although she was pale and her cheeks were flushed from the fever, Annie was still beautiful. Just as beautiful as she was when he saw her at that restaurant, he couldn’t even remember the name of that place because all he could picture was Annie. _His Annie._ Sitting there waiting for someone that wasn’t going to show. It still made his blood boil every time he thought about it, but then he thought that if micro nipples had showed up than Jeff would still be a lonely pathetic coward.

            She looked at him as if she had finally realized something. Maybe she was in love with him too? Maybe Annie realized that he had changed her life just as much as she changed his. Jeff wanted so desperately to ask her but the words fell short of his lips.

            So all they could do was eat their dinner and make fun of contestants on America’s Next Top Model.

            “Can I have a bite?” she said pointing at his salad.

            “No,” he said. She opened her mouth surprised, “I’m not letting you get your germs all over my food. You got them all over my couch and my bed, can you let my food be germ free?”

            “Selfish,” she grumbled leaning away from him.

            “You forgot self-absorbed.”

            “And here I thought I was special.” Annie grumbled again.

Jeff elbowed her shoulder, “More than you realize.”

They smiled at each other again and she nudged him with her elbow. Things were as they should be. Jeff and Annie were happy. And to be quite honest, that’s all they ever wanted to be.

 

 


	8. Hanukkah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeff leaves for his business trip to Seattle, Annie prepares for Hanukkah and realizes something unsettling.

WIBLF8:

 

            Jeff’s hands shook violently as he glanced at his watch again. “Jeff,” Annie said touching his wrist, “You’re going to be fine.”

            He looked at her and she smiled as she handed his carryon to him. “It’s just a three hour flight, no big deal.”

            “Annie I don’t know if I can say this to you in a way that will make you understand that I am a thirty five year old man and I have never taken a step out of Colorado much less ridden in an airplane.” Jeff told her… again.

            “I know that but it’s ok! Flying will be easier than driving, and it’s good for you to get some more ‘worldly’ experiences.”

            “I don’t know if the place where Grey’s Anatomy takes place is what you would call ‘worldly’ Annie.” They both smirk at each other before she pulls him down for a quick kiss.

            “Have a good flight ok?”

            “I’ll call you when I land… If I land that is.” He mumbled tucking a stray part of her hair behind her ear, “I love you,”

            She opens her mouth a little shocked at the random declaration, but her expression softened into a smile, “I love you too.” It was perfect; it wasn’t like it was in the movies. They weren’t running towards each other or anything like that. Annie Edison and Jeff Winger had loved each other for a few months and they were both glad it was out in the open now.

            He wrapped one of his arms around her waist and the other cushioning her the back head against his chest. “Abed will be so happy to know that we said ‘I love you’ for the first time in an airport.” Jeff joked, he was still nervous as hell about being in a giant metal can for three hours suspending at ten thousand feet in the air. But if he was going to die in a tin can he wanted Annie to know that he loved her. “You’ll be fine I promise. I’ll see you on Friday.”

            “Ok Friday,” Jeff kissed her again before nervously walking toward the waiting area. A lot of people were already in line, she gave a little wave as he looked back at her.

            When he turned around again she was gone, and that’s really when he started to panic.

            Annie was in her car, halfway home from the airport when she got a call from Jeff’s cellphone. “Hello,” she said.

            “Annie I don’t know what I was thinking I can’t do this. It’s a tin can suspending above the air and for three hours. _Three hours_ , Annie!”

            “Sir I’m going to have to ask you to turn off your cell phone, we’re about take off.” Annie heard the muffled voice she inferred was one of the flight attendants.

            “No no,” Jeff said to the flight attendant, “I need to get off of this plane right now. This is ridiculous I can just drive to Seattle.”

            “Jeff honey,” Annie began.

            “No Annie, I’m getting off of this plane right now.” Jeff put his hand over the speaker and spoke to the flight attendant again, “I’d like to get off of this metal death trap please.”

            “I’m sorry sir but we’ve already closed the doors.”

            “Well can’t you open them back up?”

            The flight attendant smiled, “No sir we cannot. I apologize but you’re going to have to go to Seattle this way.”

            “JEFF!” Annie yelled over the phone. He put the telephone back to his ear, “Yes Annie.”

            “Can you please hand the phone to the flight attendant?” Annie had regained her chirpy demeanor and Jeff willingly handed the phone to the lady. “It’s for you,” he grumbled as she took it.

            “Hello?” she asked.

            “Hi I’m Annie, Jeff’s girlfriend, as you have probably already noticed Jeff is a nervous flyer. He’s never been out of Colorado or ridden in an airplane or anything like this.”

            “Well I’m sorry ma’am but I can’t open the doors and let him walk out of here.”

            “Oh no! I’m not asking you to do that. Could you actually walk a few steps away from him for just a second?” The flight attendant did as she was told and walked towards the front of the airplane; “Now to make this a more enjoyable flight for you and everyone else I’ve put some pills in a Ziploc bag on the side pocket of his carryon. If he takes one of those he should calm down and be relatively quiet for the rest of the flight.”

            “You’re asking me to drug your boyfriend?”

            “eh…. I wouldn’t use the word ‘drug’. It’s just some anti-anxiety medicine and it won’t last too long. Just long enough for the flight and he should be back to his old self when he arrives in Seattle.”

            The attendant looked back at Jeff who was hunched over and fidgeting with his fingers. She didn’t want to see how this would end if he didn’t have some sort of anxiety medicine to keep him calm, so she hung up the phone and handed it back to Jeff. “What’d she say?”

            “Sir where is your carry on.” He pointed to the messenger bag directly above them. She pulled out the Ziploc bag that had two pills in it. In very girly handwriting it read, “One for Seattle and one for home!” She handed one of the pills to Jeff and handed him a plastic cup with water. “Take it.”

            He looked at her, confused and took the pill. It took him all of five minutes to feel some sort of relief. The plane took off with ease and Jeff was sitting in his hair just smiling.

            The same flight attendant approached him later, “Are you feeling alright sir?”

            “Oh I’m feeling great.”

            “You have very good girlfriend, she takes care of you.”

            “Oh Annie?” He smiled wider, “Yeah she’s really great. I love her.” He told the flight attendant, “Like, I _really_ love her.”

            The lady smiled, “That’s nice,” she said before walking to the front of the plane where the other flight attendants were.

            When Annie got off of the phone she was still a little worried about Jeff, but she didn’t receive any other calls until he got off of the plane. He seemed really relaxed and she told him about the other pill that he should take on his flight home Friday night.

            Annie liked that they would be getting some space, she loved Jeff but she wanted to spend some time with Troy and Abed… who were feeling a little neglected. She had four days with them, four days to binge watch Christmas movies, play video games and maybe squeeze in a game of paintball.

            Despite having fun with the guys that wasn’t the reason she was smiling.

            Jeff Winger loved her, like he actually _loved_ her! Jeff Winger loved her and she loved Jeff Winger. It was so simple yet so exciting.

            On Friday Annie had just left the grocery store and was making her way over to Jeff’s apartment to get dinner started. She was going to get the majority of it done before she picked him up from the airport and she wanted to surprise him with Parsnip Latkes, roasted chicken and some deep fried chocolate cupcakes. She opened the door to the apartment and smiled at the decorations they had put up the previous weekend.

            They went out and bought an artificial tree and hung up some ornaments that Annie and Jeff had both collected over the years. Jeff had secretly ordered a beautiful menorah decorated with silver leaves. “Jeff I have one at home, you didn’t need to buy one.”

            “Yeah Annie, you have one. I don’t have one. If we’re celebrating Hanukkah at my place I’d at least like to light the candles with you.” She remembered how she felt when he told her that. He was agnostic and she totally respected that but her heart fluttered knowing that he was putting a 110% effort into celebrating her holiday.

            Annie placed the bags on the counter and began unpacking them. Right before she started cooking she walked into the bathroom. Jeff had stopped locking his toiletries away so she could find some toothpaste and her toothbrush in the cabinet. That’s when she noticed a box of tampons she had bought last month, that’s when it clicked in her brain. She hadn’t had her period in over a month. Leaving her toothbrush behind she rushed to her phone and pulled up her calendar.

            She wasn’t just a few days late, the marks on her calendar indicated she was over two weeks late. Annie was panicking sure something like this had happened before but when they happened she wasn’t freaking out because she wasn’t having sex. But now she _was_ having sex.

            “I really shouldn’t be freaking out,” she told herself, “You and Jeff are always careful.” But she wasn’t on the pill. Being on the pill made her nervous and she didn’t want to be co-dependent on them.

            So before she started hyperventilating she did the only thing she could do, she called Britta. “Hey Annie,” she said.

            As soon as she heard Britta’s voice, Annie burst into tears. “Annie oh my God, are you okay?”

            “Um,” Annie sobbed, “can you just come over here?”

            “Yeah sure! Where are you? Do you need me to get you anything?” Britta was jumping off of the couch, startling her cats in the process, and grabbing her purse.

            Annie bit her lip as she hesitated, “I’m at Jeff’s and would you mind picking up a few… pregnancy tests?” Britta froze and couldn’t speak for about thirty seconds before she responded, “Yeah sure, I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

            It took Britta about twenty minutes to get to Jeff’s and Annie was frantically pacing back and forth in the living room when she burst in. Britta emptied the large Walgreens bag out onto the counter, “I got five just in case.”

            “How am I going to generate enough pee for five pregnancy tests?”

            That was when Britta pulled a bottle of mountain dew out of her purse, “With this.”

            After taking the tests Annie placed them on the counter and her and Britta sat in the bathtub waiting for the results. That’s really when the possibility of being pregnant really set in and Annie burst into tears. Fat tears emptied out of her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

            “Annie, it’s going to be ok. Lots of women have pregnancy scares. You’ve been very smart and like you said before sometimes you’re just naturally late.” Britta wiped a few tears away but they just got bigger.

            “No it’s not that, it’s just I know Jeff doesn’t want this. He’s never wanted to get married or have kids. He’s never wanted any of this.” Annie sniffled. “I just know he’s going to be mad.”

            “Don’t say that Annie, you know what Shirley says “All things are God’s will” you know she believes everything happens for a reason and you know no matter what happens we’re here for you.”

            Annie and Britta froze when they heard the bathroom door creak open, “Annie?” Jeff’s voice searched.

            “Jeff?” Annie replied shocked at hearing his voice. He wasn’t supposed to be home for another six hours.

            “Oh my God Annie what’s wrong?” He was kneeling by the bathtub the second he saw her puffy eyes and her flushed cheeks.

She glanced at her watch, “You’re not supposed to be home until tonight!”

            “We finished early, so I got the first flight home to surprise you.” His hand was firmly grasping hers, “I’ll ask again, what’s wrong? I heard you say that I’m going to be mad, so what’s wrong you can tell me.”

            Annie’s bottom lip quivered, “I’m late.”

            “Late for what? I told you I just scheduled an earlier flight. Was it something at work? If you missed your dentist appointment again we can just schedule another one it’s no big deal and if they say it is then I’ll just walk down there and show them it isn’t.”

            Annie laughed a little, “No Jeff,” she said, “My period is late.” All of the wires in his brain had malfunctioned and had stopped working. He doesn’t know how long it took for him to respond but he finally said, “Oh,” to which she replied, “Two weeks to be exact.”

            When his only response was staring at Annie in complete silence she started crying again. “I knew you’d be mad,” she said.

            That was when reality checked in and Jeff had to, for once, act like an adult. It was also the first time he had acknowledged Britta’s presence since he’d entered the room.  “Britta, could you give us a minute.”

            “Yeah, sure” She said clumsily getting up from the bathtub and leaving the bathroom. She stood outside in the hallway, at a safe enough distance so it didn’t look like she was eavesdropping but she was totally eavesdropping. Britta still hadn’t come to liking Jeff on any terms, no matter how much Annie boasted about him on their weekend meet ups.

            Jeff stood up and sat next to Annie in the bathtub. He was obviously too tall to sit criss crossed applesauce like Annie so he hung his legs over the sides. “I’m not mad,” he began, “I don’t know why you would even think that.”

            Annie shrugged, “I don’t know Jeff, you always talk about how you never saw marriage as a realistic option and you have never wanted kids so… I panicked.”

            “Now hold on, I never said I didn’t want marriage or kids with you.” Annie looked at Jeff confused. “Annie I don’t love you.” Well that made her feel crappier than she did before he sat in the bathtub with her, “No that’s not what I meant, what I’m trying to say is I don’t love you… I’m in love with you. I never understood the difference before but now I do.” She still looked confused, “Like I love Troy and Abed but I’m not in love with them the way I’m in love with you.”

            “So what you’re saying is that…?”

            “I’m willing to do whatever it takes, no matter what happens.” Jeff was the most serious he had ever been. The only thing he had ever been serious about was Annie Edison. “And if you want me to marry you then yes,” he said, “I’ll be more than happy to call my mom and get my grandmother’s ring and we’ll get the house with the white picket fence and everything. And I know that’s never been my style but it could be if I shared it with you.”

            Annie’s tears were drying and she was now smiling at Jeff. “Would you marry me if I asked you?” he chuckled. “Sitting in a bathtub in my apartment with what looks like _five_ pregnancy tests, damn how did you have enough pee to use for five pregnancy tests.”

            She rolled her eyes and then they met Jeff’s his eyes were full of hope that she would say yes to the possibility of marrying him. But that was ridiculous there’s no way in hell she would marry him now, “Sweetie no,” she said still smiling

            Jeff’s eyes were the size of Jupiter, “What!? What the hell do you mean no?”

            Annie laughed at Jeff, “I’m not going to marry you if you knocked me up, then people will think we only got married because I was pregnant.”

            “But I want to marry you because I love you.” He said.

            “Then we’ll get married someday, if that’s what we still want. But I don’t want to get married because we may or may not be having a baby.” Their gazes reverted back to the lineup of tests on the counter. “How long ago did you take them? He asked.

            “About five minutes ago.”

            “They should be ready.” He said.

            Annie licked her lips and swallowed, “I’m not ready to look just yet.”

            Jeff nodded and she asked him how his trip went. He thanked her for the Xanax and told her how the witness didn’t have a plausible story so the case he was going to use it one was completely worthless. But nonetheless he and Thompson were going to try and salvage the accurate remarks she made and put them towards winning the case. He also told her that the people in Seattle were really snobby when it came to beer. And that every time he ordered his scotch someone would point out that he wasn’t drinking beer. “Forgive me if I don’t want a beer gut Seattle,” Jeff smiled when Annie laughed. It was a sign she was calming down and he hated to see her so nervous around him.

            After another few moments of silence they both stood up and walked over to the counter. Annie hid her face in Jeff’s arm, “I can’t look, will you just tell me what they say?”

            Jeff looped his other arm around Annie while his other one turned the tests over to read them. “Wow, 100%” He could feel her nails digging into his arm, “100% negative Annie.”

            “Jeff Winger this is not an appropriate time to be joking around with me,” she mumbled against his arm.

            He shook her off of him, “No I’m serious they all say negative.” Annie’s eyes went to the different tests, one said no, and some had a frowny face and the last one had blue negative sign. “I’m not pregnant,” she said, “I’m not pregnant!” Annie jumped up and wrapped her arms around Jeff’s neck.

            “Yay!” Britta’s voice sounded from the hallway.

            Jeff pushed the door open and Britta was smiling at them. “Well I should probably go, you guys seemed to have figured everything out.” She already had her purse swung over her shoulder.

            “No, why don’t you stay for dinner?” Jeff said.

            “Oh no I possibly couldn’t, I don’t want to intrude on you guys first Hanukkah.”

            Annie shook her head, “No really, you should stay I owe you that much.” It took a little more bribing but Britta finally agreed to stay for dinner. It was the first time she had actually seen Jeff and Annie alone together. They were always with different members of the group whenever she saw them. But now that she looked at them closer, they were perfect together. When she left later that night she called Troy, “Tell Abed he was right.” She said.

            “uh, about what?” Troy asked

            “He’ll know what I’m talking about.” Was all she could say.

            After she had gone Jeff and Annie lit the first candle on the menorah and watched Jack Frost, Annie’s favorite Christmas movie. They were snuggled up on the couch curled up in their blankets with Annie’s head resting on his shoulder. The soft circles that Jeff’s thumb was making on her hand was causing Annie to drift off, “Seriously though you wouldn’t have married me?” Jeff’s voice abruptly stated causing her to wake up.

            “What?” She murmured.

            He shifted on the couch so he was looking at her, “If you were pregnant you wouldn’t have married me?”

            Annie rolled her eyes, “Jeff, we’ve only been dating for eight months.”

            “I think that’s plenty of time to judge whether or not you see some sort of future in a relationship.”

            “Jeff,” Annie began, “Of course I see a future with you. But you have to take into account that this is your first serious relationship since you were in high school. And my past experience relationships isn’t the best either.” Her hand reached out and scratched the beard he had been growing, “I love you Jeff, but I want to love you a little longer before I decide to spend the rest of my life with you.”

            Jeff smiled, “Jeez, I guess I’m just going to have to convince you to marry me.” He leaned forward and took a sip of his drink, “Never thought I’d have to do that before.”

            Annie laughed, “Please tell me this isn’t one of those weird things you’re going to get super insecure about and is going to cause you to ‘Goldblum’ all over the place.”

            “What! No…”

            Annie raised her eyebrow, “Jeff… Please.”

            “Okay, okay I promise not to Goldblum.” He leaned forward and kissed her, “But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to spend my time trying to convince you to marry me.”

            “Mhm, you do that,” She kissed him again, “I’ve missed you,”

            “I missed you too.”

            The credits were rolling by now and Annie roughly pulled his mouth to hers and it seemed like for some time that she wouldn’t let him go. Jeff’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist, practically lifting her off of the couch, as Annie’s hands began to pull at the buttons on his shirt. “Wait a second,” he paused looking back at her, “You think you can reject my proposal then seduce me?” Jeff attempted to mirror one of their past conversations.

            “Technically,” she panted, “You didn’t propose.”

            “”Will you marry me” kind of sounds like a proposal.” Jeff argued.

            Annie tilted her head and pursed her lips. “Fine,” she said taking off her blouse revealing a lacey purple bra, “If you don’t want to have sex we don’t have to have sex.” She moved away from his lap purposefully brushing him with her fingertips, as she walked towards his bedroom she was still shredding off the rest of her clothes. Jeff, wide eyed, watched her before jumping off of the couch and following her.

            She was sitting on the bed with her head leaned against the headboard. She was filing her fingernails when Jeff climbed on top of the comforter. He was crawling towards her only stopping when they were nose to nose. That was the first time she had looked at him since he had entered the room, “I thought we weren’t going to have sex.” She said playfully.

            Jeff didn’t have to say anything, all he had to do was crush her mouth with his and they were both goners. That’s really all it took, their mouths united, their tongues swirling together and their legs intertwined. That was all they really needed. It was the first time either of them were sure that what they were feeling was actual love.


	9. An Unexpected Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Pt 1

WIBLF 9: An Unexpected Gift

 

            Hanukkah passed quicker than Annie and Jeff had expected and the weekend before Christmas they were doing their own celebration with Shirley and the rest of the gang. Troy and Abed were decked out in their tacky Christmas sweaters and Shirley had spent the entire afternoon baking a variety of pies and sweets for her family and employees.

            Being a single mother operating a fulltime business put a lot of stress on Shirley, especially around the holiday season. Her husband, well now ex husband, had left her for a stripper. Britta, Abed and Troy were with her when she put that woman’s head through a Juke Box, Jeff helped her get out of a nasty lawsuit the stripper was pursuing and somehow she ended up paying Shirley money. Shirley was thankful she had met Jeff; he was a nice addition to their little group.

But with a newborn and two other kids life was still hard, regardless of the situation her friends were always there to help her, Jeff and Annie even agreed to babysit for her a few times (this was when Troy and Abed were unavailable). Christmas was going to be great, whether fate planned it or not, Shirley was going to make the best of the holiday season with her boys, “Jeffery!” Shirley exclaimed pulling him into a hug, “Merry Christmas, and Merry Christmas to you too Annie.”

Annie was wearing a bright red dress with a black belt, her hair was in soft curls and Shirley noticed her wearing a new pair of sparkling earrings. Jeff was in a grey suit with a green tie and while Annie was carrying a bag full of presents, Jeff only had one in his hand.

            Shirley had come to like Jeff, and although his age bothered her she had learned to look past it, he had helped her so much since Andre left her that she couldn’t _not_ like him. Jeff smiled at her and handed her the box that she had noticed, it was small and had a velvet cover, “Here, from me and Annie.” Shirley took the cover off of the box and saw a sparkling emerald ring. “We thought that you needed something sparkly,” Annie said.

            “Especially since that jerk-wad had the audacity to come crawling back here to ask for your ring to give it to that stripper he calls a girlfriend.” Jeff scoffed. Shirley looked up at him with her big brown eyes, she wanted to cry but at the same time she couldn’t, “And don’t you dare try and say you can’t accept this. You deserve a good Christmas Shirley, after everything you’ve been through.”

            “We love you Shirley, and this is also a way for us to say that we’re going to be there for you and your boys as much as we can.” Annie smiled. Shirley stood there wide-eyed and shocked, “Well put it on!” Annie exclaimed, “It’s going to look great!”

            That was when Shirley eloped them both in a soul-crushing hug, “I love you guys,” she said. Annie looked at Jeff whose hand had reached up to pat Shirley’s back. If there was one thing Jeff despised it was people who abandoned their families, especially after his own experiences with abandonment.

            “We love you too Shirley,” Jeff said.

            After Annie practically forced her to put on the ring the three of them went to join the rest of their family. The restaurant was packed with their seven and some of her employees, like Starburns and Rachel, and some of her regular customers, like Craig, Magnitude and Leonard. Elijah and Jordan were running around the Christmas tree and Troy was cradling baby Ben in his arms.

            Jeff and Annie took a seat next to Britta at the long table near the stage. “Hey guys, Merry Christmas.” Britta said.

            “Merry Christmas,” They said.

            “Jeffery,” he turned to see the voice that had called out his name and Jeff saw Craig Pelton decked out in a skimpy secret Santa number. “Craig,” Jeff groaned and in return earned him a gentle slap to his arm by Annie.

            “I was starting to think you weren’t going to show up.” Craig briefly placed his hand on Jeff’s chest. It took all of the strength in Britta and Annie to keep from laughing at Jeff’s face.

            “Wouldn’t miss the joys of Christmas with you guys.”

            “Well,” Craig drew out, “I’m glad you decided to come.” He ran the hand that had been previously on Jeff’s chest down his arm.

            “Are you drunk?” Jeff blurted out.

            “Oh Jeffery,” Craig laughed, “You know alcohol makes me sleepy.” After somehow convincing Craig to return to Chang’s table Jeff looked at Annie frustrated, “How can you sit there and giggle when he comes over here and hits on me?”

            “Jeff,” Britta laughed, “It’s hilarious.”

            “Yeah and I know you’re all mine so I have no reason to be jealous.” Annie wrapped her arms around his bicep and snuggled her cheek against his shoulder.

            Jeff rolled his eyes, “I just can’t believe you think it’s funny.”

            “So Craig finds you attractive? A lot of people do,” Annie said.

            “Careful Annie, you don’t want to inflate his ego anymore than it already is.” Britta said.

            “Careful Britta, it’s Christmas.” Jeff retorted. The two stared at each other with beady eyes before sighing in defeat. It was something they did often, mostly because it comforted Annie to know they were at least on speaking terms even if those terms included a few snarky comments now and again.

            “Annie,” Shirley came up behind her and handed her a plate full of food, “Oh my god, I could have just gotten it myself you didn’t have to go through all of this trouble!”

            “Uh no I did…” Shirley bit her lip, “Because I uh… I kind of forgot to tell you who was going to play music at this party.” Annie’s eyes widened as Shirley’s voice trailed off.

            “Hello, Good evening and hey how are you guys doing tonight.” A voice sounded over the loud speakers.

            “Who the hell is the greasy hippie?” Jeff asked referring to the lead singer who had just greeted the audience.

            “Oh no,” Annie whined before subtly sinking down into her chair.

            “I hope that you will find it within your heart to forgive me for accepting the offer of them performing Christmas music for free if I fed them.” Shirley gave Annie a quick pat on the shoulder before returning to her side of the table.

            “What the hell was that about?” Jeff asked.

            Britta laughed, “Oh you’ll find out soon,”

            Jeff saw Annie covering her eyes with her hands, so he turned to the stage and saw the greasy hippie with the mic immediately takes his shirt off which caused Jeff to raise his eyebrows. “We’re going to start off with a classic one, sing along if you know it,”

No one sang along.

            But that was about the time that Jeff noticed, _god_ his nipples were tiny. And that’s when everything clicked and he busted out laughing. He heard Annie groan next to him and he continued laughing as he patted her back. “That is _Vaughn_? That is Tiny Nipples!”

            Annie nodded as Jeff continued to laugh so hard he had to wipe a few tears away, “The same guy who stood you up?”

            The idea of this Vaughn character used to make Jeff’s blood boil. For some reason Jeff had concocted a very different image of what Vaughn looked like. But now that he knew he was a dirty hippy who greeted people three times before starting a conversation all he could do was laugh. “Ahhhh remind me to kiss you _a lot_ in front of him.”

            “Jeff no. We’re going to be nice and mature about this.”

            “Yes we are,” He said, “And then I’m going to kiss you in front of him to show him what he’s missing out.” Annie rolled her eyes, “Also you picked that?” he pointed at the stage. “I mean Annie you are _way_ out of his league. Did you really have that bad of taste in men before you met me?”

            Annie gasped, “I do not have a bad taste in men!”

            “Well,” Jeff squinted his eyes and shrugged, “Not anymore you don’t.”

            “Britta!” Annie and Jeff both looked across the table, “Tell Jeff I don’t have bad taste in guys!”

            Britta raised her eyebrows and quickly panicked, “What is that Troy!?”

            “I didn’t say anything,” Annie clearly heard Troy say from across the room.

            Britta exchanged looks with Troy before shouting back, “Okay! I’m coming!” Annie groaned in frustration then turned to Jeff who just shrugged and smiled at her. “You know I’m right” he said.

            “Then keep it to yourself,” She crossed her arms and stared straight ahead.

            Jeff tilted his head and wrapped his arms around her pulling her towards him, “Come on don’t be like that. I was just playing around.” When she muttered something he didn’t catch Jeff roughly kissed her cheek. She relaxed into his grip and leaned the back of her head into his neck. “What time are we leaving to go to your mothers?”

            “The day after tomorrow I think, she wants us to be there for a couple of days since I haven’t seen her in almost a year.”

            “I’m excited to meet your mother,” Annie squirmed, “She seems like she really loves you.”

            “She’s really excited to meet you too.” Jeff laughed, “She was a little thrown off when I told her I had a girlfriend.” It was true, and even so Jeff hadn’t exactly told Doreen Winger what Annie looked like or much about her at all. But nonetheless Doreen was happy that the possibility of having grandchildren was back on the table.

            Vaughn and his band was still playing so Jeff gestured up toward the stage, “Seriously though what was it about this guy?”

            Annie shrugged, “I don’t know I guess I thought it would be cool to date a guy in a band.” Still Jeff couldn’t understand the appeal of this guy, “And he has this chill attitude about everything.”

            “Come on there has to be something else.” Jeff said.

            “Okay… he also called me this weird nickname.”

            “Well… What was is?”

            Annie hesitated but said it anyway, “He used to call me Mountain Flower.”

            “I am never calling you Mountain Flower.” Told her plainly. “Oh gross,” Annie began, “Yeah I don’t want you to call me that either, although now that I look back at it I’m pretty sure he called me that because he didn’t know my name until a few days before he asked me out.”

            Jeff chuckled, “Wow, it doesn’t take much to make Annie Edison blush,”

            “Oh yeah,” Annie said, “You wanna play this game? Cause I’ll play this game.” Jeff raised his eyebrows at her. She leaned towards his ear and placed a hand on his upper thigh, “It doesn’t take much for you either Mr. Smart Mouth.”

            Jeff swallowed as he felt his stomach tighten amongst other things, “Annie, think about what you’re doing. It’s Christmas and we’re at Shirley’s and she _just_ started liking me.”

            Annie’s mouth brushed along his scruff planted a soft lingering kiss on his lips, “I told you I was going to play the game,”’ she said ‘innocently’ against his lips.

            “If I wasn’t in love with you right now I would be really angry.” Although she sat up straight now, her hand was inching its way up and down his thigh and Jeff could swear he could feel the sweat glistening on his forehead.

            “You guys ready for the movie” Abed said as he approached them.

            “There’s a movie?” Jeff hesitated pushing Annie’s concealed hand away from his leg.

            Abed explained that he and Troy had borrowed a screen from Dean Pelton and hung it up in the main part of the restaurant. They thought it would be a good idea to have a Christmas movie playing while everyone was visiting with each other. “Our first pick is Rudolf, then we’re thinking Christmas Vacation next.”

            “Both sound great Abed,” Annie said.

            Annie and Jeff sat in the back of the restaurant with her hand teasing him the entire time. Jeff tried to hold his breath in while eating chips of ice and thinking about something sad like how mean the other reindeer were to Rudolf. Annie kept a small smirk on her face throughout the movie, knowing that this would be the last time Jeff Winger teased her about how easily she blushed, especially with his jacket sitting on top of his lap.

            When they got home, as soon as the door shut, Jeff had her pressed up against the wall. “You are such a tease,” he told her as he was kissing her neck.

            “Not half as much as you are,” she said wrapping both of her legs around his waist. With one hand roaming her body and the other one supporting the weight of her ass, Jeff wasn’t letting her leave his grasp anytime soon. Their clothes were discarded quickly and Annie moaned into Jeff’s mouth as he pulled her closer towards him.

            After making their way towards his bedroom they collapsed on one another, both completely out of breath, and fell asleep. Jeff woke a couple of hours later to find Annie had put on one of his sweaters and was snuggled into his side. His hand found her lower back and gently pressed her against him. He took a deep breath and smelled her lavender body wash he thought she would have sweated off, but the scent had lingered and Jeff had yet again found himself completely speechless. His mind could not find words to describe this moment, what he was feeling, so he kissed her hairline and whispered good night before closing his eyes and feeling her snuggle closer to him.

*****

            “Jeff!” Annie yelled from the front door, she glanced at her watch again, “We’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up!”

            Jeff looked at himself in the mirror again. He was wearing the red button down his mom had bought him last Christmas and a pair of khakis. He was about to spend the weekend letting Annie get to know his mother and Jeff would be lying if he said he wasn’t even a little bit nervous.

            He checked his hair again, his deodorant, he flossed his teeth again when Annie barged in, “You told your mother we would be there by two and if you don’t hurry your little butt along we’re going to be late!”

            “Annie relax,” he said, “If we’re late she’ll blame me not you.”

            Her eyes were wide and horrified, he could tell she was nervous too, “No no no, because if we’re late she’s going to think I don’t care about time management or organization or anything and it’s going to be a disaster.”

            Jeff reached up and cupped Annie’s cheeks in his hands. Her distracted eyes found his and he leaned in and met her lips for only a brief moment, “Listen,” he said with his lips still lingering, “We’re both going to be fine. Just relax,” Annie listened as she reflected on the minty taste he had left against her lips.

            Annie’s head nodded in his grasp before he released her. “Alright yeah, loosey goosey I can be that!” She wiggled her arms at her side and Jeff smiled at her weirdness.

            The drive to the Greendale area was a few hours but they had Dave and the Barenaked Ladies to keep them company. Doreen’s house was a two story red bricked house with white windows and drawn up shades. Annie could see that she kept an impressive garden of roses and azaleas around the house and made the mental note to comment on them later. Jeff furrowed his brow when he saw an unfamiliar car in his mother’s driveway, but he pulled up behind it anyway. “Wonder who that is,” Jeff commented, “Probably one of her friends from her book club.”

            When they got out of the car Annie and Jeff walked up the driveway and he opened the door and announced, “Mom, I’m home.” They removed their coats and scarves, hanging them on the hooks that were placed on the wall. “Stay here I’ll put our bags in my old room,” Jeff disappeared for a few minutes and came back, when they heard a feminine laugh coming from the kitchen. Jeff followed the sound of her voice with Annie trailing behind him.

            “Jeffery!” Doreen exclaimed walking towards them.

            Annie noted that Doreen didn’t look like Jeff, sure they shared the same pair of eyes and nose but other than that they didn’t have a lot of similarities. Doreen reached out and hugged him, “Oh and this must be Annie!” she pointed, “I must say you look completely different from what I thought!”

            “Mom,” Jeff warned.

            “Oh Jeffery,” Doreen rolled her eyes, “You can just call me Doreen sweetheart, it’s so great to have you staying with us for Christmas.”

            “Thank you so much for having me,” Annie said, “It’s a pleasure to be in your home, I just love your azalea bushes outside!” as they were introducing themselves, Jeff took a couple more steps into the kitchen and stopped, “Jeff,” Annie said concerned, “Are you ok?” Annie noticed how pale his face had gotten so she made the same steps into the kitchen as he did when she saw a man sitting on a barstool looking up at them.

            Annie’s hand reached up and touched Jeff’s arm, “Jeff who is that?”

            Jeff took a deep breath before he responded, “He’s my father.” Her eyes flickered from Jeff to the man sitting on the stool. They had many similar features and characteristics between them. The most Annie knew about Jeff’s father was that he had walked out on him and Doreen when Jeff was about eight. And now all of a sudden on Christmas Jeff was meeting his father again for the first time in over twenty years? “Oh my God,” was all she could say before Jeff turned away from her and the kitchen and walked up stairs.


	10. Presents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Pt2

Thanks so much to everyone! As always favs, follows, reviews are always appreciated!

-Tay

 

Chapter 10:

 

            “Jeff,” Annie’s faint voice called out but he didn’t turn around. She heard footsteps going up the stairs and into a room on the second floor; she turned back to Doreen and then to Mr. Winger.

            “Annie this is William, Jeff’s father.” Doreen said cheerfully, “Although I didn’t expect Jeff to react in such a way, you know how dramatic he can be though.”

            Annie backed away from his mother almost disgusted at the lack of care she had in her voice, “This isn’t right, I need to talk to Jeff.” His mom tilted her head in confusion when Annie turned away and made her way up the stairs. Annie noted the various photographs of Jeff throughout his childhood that hung on the wall. At any other time she would smile at them but her mouth was formed in a straight line.

            On the second floor of the house all of the doors were open except one, she assumed it was Jeff’s old room, where he was probably hiding, and knocked on it. ‘Go away,’ he thought. He wanted to be alone, surrounded by the few memories of his childhood he had left. “Jeff open up, it’s Annie.”

            After a few more moments of silence she knocked on the door again and Jeff finally muttered, “It’s open.”

            Annie opened the door slowly and saw Jeff lying with his back on the bed. She crossed her arms and rubbed her shoulders, “So…” she began, “Do you want to leave?”

            “What?” he asked.

            He felt the bed sink in when she laid down next to him, “I said ‘do you want to leave?’ It’s ok with you do, I’ll do whatever you want to do.” The thing was, Jeff didn’t know what to do. He could leave and be a coward or he could go downstairs and meet his father again and maybe let him know how much he had ruined him.

            “What do you think I should do?” he sighed.

            “I think you should at least have dinner with the guy, not because he deserves it but because _you_ do.” Annie rolled on her side facing him and Jeff naturally wrapped his warm around her waist. She rested her head on his shoulder and her fingers tapped lightly on his chest. He took a deep breath, her warmth and comfort made him feel ten times better than moping up there by himself. He was glad that she was there beside him.

            “I want you to do what makes you feel comfortable Jeff. If you want to leave then we will. We can go and get a honey-baked ham and we can make Christmas dinner at your apartment and open our gifts there. Or we can stay here and have one dinner with your dad then spend the rest of the weekend with your mom. It’s your choice and regardless of what it is I’ll be here for you.”

            Jeff took another deep breath and sat up on his elbows, “I guess one dinner wouldn’t hurt.” Annie and him smiled at each other, “Question: what word should I use in case I change my mind and I want us to get the hell out of here.”

            Annie bit her lip, “Hmmmm, how about ‘Annie could you pass the butter’ and then we’ll move on from there. I’ll fake a stomach ache or something.”

            “Or we could storm out like sensible people.”

            “Or that,” she chuckled before frowning, “Jeff, I’m really sorry.”

            “Don’t be, it’s not your fault that my dad decided not to be a dad anymore only to show up twenty years later on Christmas.”

            Jeff already knew it was coming, “If you don’t mind me asking,…” she began, “When was the last time you saw your dad?”

            He took a deep breath and pursed his lips before saying, “At the courthouse. When my parents were filing for divorce they were mainly fighting about money and the house. Most kids would have been happy to see that their parents hadn’t fought over them… but my dad was… well… he was my hero. And he didn’t even fight for me. He didn’t want to be tied down by some kid. So after the final hearing I saw my dad walk out of the courtroom after shaking the lawyers hand.

            “I was sitting on this bench with my Aunt and when I saw my dad my attention became focused on him. I called out his name, but all I saw was the corner of his eye glance at me before he continued walking out the door. I scooted over to the window and just stared out at him as he walked toward his car, _begging_ that he would _please_ look back at me. I wanted to know what he was thinking, what he was feeling, and I thought I would be able to see that if he looked back at me. But he didn’t. And that was the last time I saw him.”

            “Wow, I didn’t know it was…

            “That horrifying? It was.”

“No,” Annie shook her head; “I didn’t mean it like that. I know it’s always been complicated when it came to talking about your dad. I just don’t understand how any parent could just abandon their child.”

“That’s why I’ve never wanted to get married or be a dad, I didn’t want to hurt someone the way my dad hurt me and my mom.”

Annie’s hand found his shoulder, “Oh Jeff don’t ever say that, you could never do that. You’re nothing like him.” Jeff liked seeing her get all-defensive of him, but even he knew she was wrong.

“Annie,” he smirked, “You don’t even know him.”

“Well…” she hesitated, “I know you, and you would never do what he did.”

Jeff shook his head, “You don’t know that Annie.”

“Yes I do! I know you would never hurt me intentionally.”

“Most people when they hurt someone it is unintentional.”

Annie raised her eyebrows, “You know what? I’m not even going to have this conversation with you right now. Do you want to know why? Because you’re wrong Jeff, and you’re trying to change the subject. Do you want to go downstairs or not?”

“Just give me five more minutes.” He said.

Annie got up from the bed to get a good look around Jeff’s childhood bedroom for the first time since she came into the room. She raised an eyebrow and points to a poster hanging on the wall, “That’s a uh…. Nice Blondie poster you’ve got there.”

            “Well excuse me for growing up in the eighties and having two ears connected to my heart.” She rolled her eyes and continued to walk around the room. There were some old star wars action figures and various cassette tapes sitting on the desk. “I don’t think this room has really been touched since I moved out.” He confessed.

            “You haven’t slept in your room since you moved out?”

            “No,” he shook his head, “I usually just got here on Christmas day and then drove home. I didn’t really want to spend the whole weekend here, until now, and now I know I’ll never make that decision again.”

            “Come on Jeff, I’m sure your mother hand your best interests in mind. But she should have at least told you that there was the possibility of you meeting your father again.” Annie pursed her lips, “Don’t you think you can at least give it a shot? Maybe he’s changed… you certainly have.”

            Jeff groaned knowing she was right, “Fine, one dinner.” Annie smiled at him before raking her fingers along his scruffy cheek, “But mark my words the minute it gets uncomfortable we are getting the hell out of here, and I don’t care if Christmas dinner means buttered noodles with Troy and Abed.”

            “Agreed!”

            Annie held Jeff’s hand as they walked down the stairs and into Doreen’s kitchen; she was now sitting at the bar opposite Mr. Winger. “Jeffery,” His mom said.

            “Let’s get one thing clear, I’m very angry at you at the moment.” Her eyes widened as Jeff turned back to his dad, “And now you, you get one dinner. That’s it. No mushy gushy stuff and I don’t care why you’re here, are we clear?”

            “Crystal.” Mr. Winger said.

            “This is Annie,” Jeff finally said. It was the first thing that had brought a smile on his face since he had gotten there. “My girlfriend.”

            “It’s wonderful to meet you Annie.” Doreen said. “Are you hungry? Dinner is all ready to go!” Once they all had gotten their food Annie sat next to Jeff and squeezed his arm giving him a reassuring smile. Jeff smiled back and tucked his head in looking down at her hand.

            William and Jeff were sitting opposite each other; Annie saw even more similarities between them. The way they ate, the confidence that eradicated off of both of them and more importantly the way they looked. Mr. Winger was well into his sixties and he hadn’t lost his hair, which Annie took that as a good sign, not that that actually mattered but it was good to know Jeff had a greater chance at keeping his great hair.

            “I’m a lawyer in Denver,” Jeff said, “I’m weeks away from making Partner.”

            Annie could tell that Jeff was trying to accomplish two things; one to show his dad how well he did without him. And two; to try and get his dad to say how proud he was of his son.

            “Lawyer, that’s a good profession” was all William said.

            Annie’s heart ached when she saw the hard expression Jeff had on his face, “And what do you do Annie?” Doreen asked.

            “I work in a forensics lab operated by the FBI.” Annie said tearing her face away from Jeff’s.

            “That sounds interesting, what do you do there?”

            “Mostly toxicology occasionally we work with ballistics or drug use. But most of what we do deals with poisons and such.”

            Jeff’s hands twirled his fork; “I also made Summa Cum Laude when I graduated from law school.” He blurted out.

            Annie raised her eyebrows, “Yes, Doreen showed me the chords that are hanging in the hallway.”

            Jeff was biting down on his lower lip; he thought if he had done it any longer it would have bled. Annie placed her hand on his thigh. She placed it there so that Jeff’s dad wouldn’t see the gesture. Jeff stopped biting his and looked at her in awe, he felt somewhat relieved, relieved that she was there.

            “I’m sorry Annie, what were you saying?” he smirked at her.

            Whenever he smirked at her like that she would look down and pull the ends of her hair to the front. She did it then as she continued talking about lab procedures and Jeff couldn’t help but give that small smile that was filled with so much he hadn’t told her yet.

            “To be in as big of a leadership position as you are at such a young age is so remarkable Annie” Doreen said.

            “Oh no,” Annie said modestly, “I had an internship with the FBI my junior year in college and they really liked me. So when I graduated they offered me the job in Denver.”

            “It sounds like you’re one hell of a forensic toxicologist.” William said.

            “She’s the best.” Jeff said, “She’s the best at what she does. The FBI knew she was something else when she walked in the door.”

            “And it appears you did too.” William said.

            Jeff looked at his father and then back at Annie that small smile still playing on his lips, “Yeah, I did.”

            “How did you two meet anyway?” He asked.

            “Oh it’s a long story!” Annie laughed obviously a little embarrassed.

            “Oh honey,” Jeff laughed, “We have plenty of time.” Annie gave Jeff a deadly glare but he continued anyway. “So I walk into this restaurant with some coworkers of mine. We’ve just won this huge case, but we can’t get into the restaurant because it’s booked. So the hostesses tell me that this poor, sweet and beautiful woman has just been stood up and is still holding out hope that this total _tool_ will show up. But he didn’t so I graciously stepped in and saved her dignity.” Her death stare had softened into somewhat of a smile at the memory. “And the rest as they say is history.”

            “Until that changes,” Mr. Winger muttered.

            “Excuse me,” Jeff snapped.

            “Jeff,” Annie said, “It’s ok.”

            “No it’s not,” Jeff turned back toward his father. “You don’t know a damn thing about Annie or me, especially me. And you come here acting like everything can go back to the way it was but it can’t. The last time I saw you was when I was seven. So don’t sit there and make cynical judgments as if you know me.” There are moments in life where everything is silent, you could hear a pin drop from across the room or hear whatever was going on in the next room. This was one of those moments and no one thought it would end before Jeff stood up, “I think you should leave.”

            “Jeffery,” Doreen said.

            “No Mom, either he leaves or Annie and I do.” Annie knew he was serious, and Doreen thought so too because she gave William a nod to the door. They both got up from the table and walked towards the front door. Jeff ran his hands through his hair as he began to pace around the dining room.

            “Jeff everything is going to be ok.” Annie told him.

            “Yes it is because I am never going to see him again,” he said, “Jeff,” Annie began but was cut off by Doreen walking back into the house. Jeff walked towards her and asked if they could speak privately, leaving Annie alone in the dining room.

            They came back almost half an hour later by then it was almost eight o’clock and Annie had already cleaned up the kitchen. She hadn’t heard any shouting from upstairs but she assumed by their delay return that they were in a heated discussion. “Sorry we took so long,” Jeff sighed.

            “It’s okay,” Annie said.

            “Dear you didn’t have to clean up the whole kitchen by yourself, you’re my guest.”

            “It’s alright Ms. Winger. I don’t mind!”

            “Doreen,” She smiled.

            “Doreen…” Annie hesitated.

            The three then retreated to the couch where Doreen had recorded Meet Me in St. Louis earlier that day. “This is one of my favorites!” Annie exclaimed.

            “You do kind of look like Judy Garland,” Jeff commented.

            “Stop it,” Annie giggled.

            Jeff would have enjoyed the movie more if he weren’t so frustrated with his mother and angry with his father. But he suffered through his mother singing ‘Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ wayyyyy off key and he thought if he could live through that he could live through anything.

            As Judy and Doreen sang, “From now on our troubles will be miles away” Annie reached over and squeezed Jeff’s hand. They glanced at each other thoughtfully as they heard, “Through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow.”

            Annie closed her eyes and a few tears trickled down her cheek. Jeff would have kissed her if they had been anywhere but sitting on his mother’s couch, so he raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it before wiping some of her tears away. Their little moment was disrupted by Doreen’s sudden wailing, Jeff watched as Annie began to comfort his mom as she too cried.

            When the movie ended and the Smiths stayed in St. Louis, Jeff was ready to pass out. Annie yawned in response, “I’m about ready too,” she said.

            “Annie I can show you up to the guest bedroom if you’re ready to go to sleep.”

            “Why would she need to sleep in the guest bedroom?” Jeff asked his mom.

            Doreen’s eyes widened as she leaned in a little bit and whispered, “Well dear… You’re not married.”

            Jeff gaped at his mother, who he knew for a fact had had multiple flings throughout the years was telling him that Annie couldn’t stay in his room because they weren’t married. He wanted to blurt out, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” but he didn’t. Instead Annie said, “That’s ok! I don’t mind.” When Jeff looked back at her she gave a small shrug before following Mrs. Winger down the hall. “Good night,” she said.

            “Goodnight.” He said back.

            Jeff reached for the remote and turned off the TV. He walked upstairs and changed into a pair of sweatpants and an old Ralph Lauren t-shirt. He rolled back the sheets and laid down thinking that he would just sneak into the guest bedroom in about an hour. By that time he knew his mother would be asleep and he’d get some privacy with Annie. But before he knew it he had already fallen asleep.

            He felt the sheets beneath him move back and he was startled awake, “Ah!” he half screamed.

            But it was only Annie, “Sorry,” she whispered, “Did I scare you?”

            Jeff rubbed his eyes, “No that’s why I screamed.” He smirked and felt the need to roll his eyes when he saw Annie in her blue polka dot pajamas.

            She reached out and poked his arm, “Scoot over,”

            They made eye contact and she raised her eyebrows and poked him again before he pulled the quilt back and made room for her. Annie’s head was immediately pressed against his chest and her small arms wrapped around his waist. Likewise Jeff placed one of his hands on the back of her head and the other arm was slung around her waist. “What brought this on?” he finally asked.

            “It’s hard to sleep without you,” she confessed, “You’re so warm.”

            “Your feet always feel like ice.” He complained, “Hey!” he exclaimed when he felt her tiny toes attach to his calves.

            She giggled into his chest before suddenly stopping, “I was also kinda worried about you after the whole dinner thing.” He knew that she felt him tense up, “… Are you ok?”

            Jeff sighed and ran his fingers through her hair, “For now,” he felt her fingers curl up in his shirt, “I’m glad you’re here. I can’t imagine how thing would have turned out without you.”

            “Me too, I can’t fathom what it would have been like for you to have faced this all alone.”

            “I was by myself for a long time Annie, I’m a big boy I can handle things on my own.” But she saw right through him. Jeff was trying to play it off like he didn’t care, like his dad returning and then leaving again didn’t bother him. He had spent his whole life not having someone care about him or his feelings. Annie could feel Jeff building the wall up around her again; she had taken it down the first time she could do it again.

            “But that doesn’t mean you have to.” She whispered.

            All of a sudden his throat felt thick as he felt himself take a shaky breath. Annie’s had reached up to cup his cheek and he was staring into her blue eyes, “Promise me that when things like this happen you won’t deal with them by yourself. I don’t want you to be alone Jeff, ever again and I don’t want you building your walls around me because I care about you Jeff. I want to be there for you, so _please promise me_.” Jeff felt something wet trailing down his cheek, a single line from his eyelid to his jaw. The tear was thrown off its course by Annie’s finger and the rest of them dissolved when her mouth made contact with his.

            He wasn’t crying about his dad or how his mom had tricked him into spending the whole weekend with her. He was crying because for the first time in his life he realized someone had known the same pain he felt. Sure he and Annie had different backgrounds and stories but they both craved to be loved and cared for, and they both were scared to do it. He felt himself deepen the kiss before whispering, “You too,” against her lips. “You have to promise too,”

            “I promise,” she cried.

            “I promise,” he said before kissing her again. It seemed like hours that they lay there just kissing each other. His hands were still in her hair and her fingers were still laced into his beard by the time they fell asleep against each other’s lips.

*****

            Christmas Eve passed quickly, Doreen had invited one of her widowed neighbors over to eat supper with them. Jeff and Annie had repeated the ‘sneaking into the others room’ again that night but when Annie woke up Jeff was nowhere to be found. Yawning loudly and running her fingers through her hair she realized that she smelt hazelnut coffee coming from the kitchen. She followed the scent and found Jeff making waffles in his bathrobe.

            She walked over and kissed him, “Good Morning,” she murmured, “Merry Christmas.”

            “Merry Christmas to you too.” Annie was trying to be sneaky and grab a piece of bacon from the plate he had it sitting on but he slapped her hand away, “Not yet stingy!”

            Annie’s jaw dropped, “Well I’m sorry, I’m hungry.”

            “Aren’t you Jewish? You’re not supposed to eat pork.”

            “Let me live a little, it’s Christmas morning.” Jeff rolled his eyes, “You don’t even celebrate Christmas,” He mumbled.

            Noticing that Jeff had only made enough breakfast for two, Annie looked around the kitchen and saw no sign of Doreen, “By the way… Where is your mom?”

            “She went to Christmas Day service with her neighbor.”

            “Aw Jeff! I would have gone! I even brought some nicer clothes in case we did go.”

            “No that’s ok, I told her that I wanted to make you breakfast and open presents with you.” He said handing her a plate.

            Annie’s blue eyes lit up like one of the lights on the Christmas tree, “Presents!” she exclaimed.

            “That’s kind of the whole thing about Christmas, you know Santa Claus breaks into your house and leave you a bunch of goodies if you’re nice.”

            “Or coal if you’re naughty.” She teased before taking a bit out of her waffle.

            “Annie Edison if you are implying that I was a naughty kid than I am more than offended and I am taking your bacon back.” His hand reached over but Annie poked him with her fork, “I am not afraid to use this Jeff Winger, so back up and leave the bacon out of this.”

            He laughed at her, “Bacon really is important to you,”

            “Unhealthy breakfasts are when you’re in a relationship with Jeff Winger.” She took another bite out of the piece of bacon Jeff had just tried to steal.

            “Come on,” he complained, “I’m not that bad.”

            “Jeff,” she said, “The first time I spent the night with you, your idea of a good breakfast was a protein shake. _Just a protein shake_. Lucky Charms would have been a better choice than that.”

            “What do you have against Lucky Charms?”

            “Nothing!” she signed, “I’m just saying that most girls when they’re in love fantasize about waking up to a hot pot of coffee and a cheese omelets…. Not a protein shake or raw eggs.”

            “Well I made breakfast this morning, how is it?” He really was curious about her opinion on it because she was right. If she didn’t make breakfast ‘the morning after’ he would offer her one of those two things, maybe a nutrition bar if he had one.”

            “It’s delicious.” She confessed. “Seriously though you should make this more often.”

            “Dually noted.”

            Annie finished her breakfast quickly _and_ cleaned up the dishes as Jeff was still eating. She sat next to him tapping her fingers on the counter urging for him to finish. He laughed and started eating slower before she decided he was done and pulled him onto the floor next to the Christmas tree. “You first,” She exclaimed handing him the box wrapped in snowmen wrapping paper.

            Jeff could understand Annie’s excitement, he too felt like a five year old waking up on Christmas. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins as he pulled the wrapping paper apart before lifting the top of the box off. “No. Way.” He said lifting up a Marc Jacobs leather jacket.

            Annie giggled, “I thought that the next time we go to Shirley’s or L Street you could look as cool as you act when you play pool.” She moved the box off of his lap, “Try it on silly!”

            Jeff put both of his arms through the jacket and sure it looked ridiculous with his sweatpants on but oh my god it was so comfortable, and it looked great on him too, “Annie don’t get jealous, but I might be falling in love with this jacket.”

            “We can share you,” she laughed. “Unless you get weird about it then I’m definitely taking it back.”

            “Also noted.” Jeff pulled out a larger box from behind the tree, “Now here is your present.

            Annie noticed how nervous he looked, despite knowing that she would love anything he got her, it still made her heart flutter to see him riled up like that. “Shirley helped with the wrapping, I’m completely useless when it comes to things like this.”

            “It looks great,” she laughed as she began shredding away the wrapping paper. On the inside of the box was a beautiful hand carved wooden jewelry box. “Jeff it’s so beautiful!” she exclaimed.

            “I know you have anxiety about losing your jewelry when you stay the night so I thought we could put it on top of my dresser so you could have a place for it.”

            “Jeff it’s perfect! Thank you so much!” She leaned forward and kissed him. When she took the jewelry box out of the package and placed it on the carpet in front of her, she noticed that he was still wearing that nervous expression.

            “Why don’t you open it to see what’s inside?” He almost whispered.

            Annie’s eyes widened and her heart was fluttering while at the same time it felt like her heart had stopped working completely. Her eyes left his and returned to the jewelry box and he hands lifted the lid, when Annie saw what was inside she gasped. Inside the box was a beautiful vintage sapphire ring.

            “Jeff-” She began.

            “Don’t say anything until you hear what I have to say. I’ve known you for almost a year now and everything about my life has changed because of you. You are the strangest, coolest, most genuine person I've ever met. And the thing that scares me about you is how good you make me wish I was.

            “I know a couple of weeks ago you said that you wouldn’t marry me right now, and I’m not asking you to marry me at this moment. We can have a long engagement; we can wait a year before we even start planning the wedding. I love you, you know I do and I know you love me, I just want to know if you’ll let us keep loving each other for the rest of our lives…” He was serious. Jeff Winger was seriously asking Annie Edison to marry him. “And after this weekend, with all the crap you’ve had to put up with you never once lingered away from me and I just want you to know how much I love and care about you.”

            “So will you please for the love of God, marry me?”

            Annie’s heart was thumping inside her chest as she stared back at Jeff. His eyes were like crystals and she couldn’t imagine what her face looked like at that moment. Jeff was serious, she thought that he was half joking when they were sitting in the bathtub almost a month ago. But no he was dead serious. Jeff Winger, the man she loved, wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Mr. Commitmentphobe was going to change his ways to make sure that they would be together for the rest of their lives. This went against her plan; she wanted to date him at least another six months before he even thought about proposing. But that’s the thing about Jeff, she thought, he doesn’t pay attention to her plans. He’s changed her, a long time ago she would have freaked out at the alteration of her perfect life plan. But like she had changed him, he had changed her, and this time she wasn’t too worried about messing up that big life plan of hers. But still this was a huge decision.

And as Jeff waited for her reply it seemed like one thousand different scenarios popped into her mind and each one of them began with one word, “Yes.”

Jeff looked stunned at her response so she repeated herself, “Yes! I will marry you!” She grabbed his shoulders and shoved him towards her wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him hard on the mouth.

When they broke away Jeff was laughing and Annie was crying when he nervously put the ring over her finger. “It’s a perfect fit.” He whispered, “Abed’s going to be disappointed at such a cliché.”

“He’ll get over it.” She said wiping a tear away with her right hand so she couldn’t gaze away from the ring on her left.

 

AN Part Two:

Sorry that took so long. I had writers block with this because I wrote the beginning and the end I just didn’t know how to write the middle. Well I hope I succeeded and I hope you enjoyed it!

Thank you so much!

Love you guys!

Tay <3


	11. Winter Wonderland

WIBLF 11: Winter Wonderland

**December 12th**

            “Britta please be careful!” Annie whined as Britta was fastening the remaining buttons on her wedding dress. “I am being careful!” Britta snapped back.

            “I’m sorry I’ve been so snappy, I’m just really nervous.”

            “Don’t be, its just Jeff.” Britta placed her hand on her shoulder.

            “Exactly! It’s Jeff Winger! He’s probably freaking out right now!” Annie turned around and stared at herself in the mirror. Her dress was a lacey off the shoulder gown that she had gotten with Britta and Shirley in June. She probably should have thought of buying a matching shawl because now it was December, December twelfth to be exact, and it was freezing in Colorado.

            At that moment however Jeff was indeed freaking out on the other side of the church. “Jeff you’re going to need to just calm down!” Troy said.

            “Are you the one getting married Troy?” Jeff panted, “Are you about to make a life long commitment to someone?”

            “It’s not just someone Jeff, it’s Annie.” Abed said.

            “Annie,” Jeff repeated. “I need to talk to Shirley.” He was running his fingers through his hair with one hand and with the other he was loosening his tie. ‘Is it hot in here or is it just me?’ he thought to himself. A few moments later Shirley walked in and gently closed the door behind her, “What’s wrong pumpkin?”

            “Classic wedding day jitters,” Abed said.

            “Shirley I can’t do this.” Jeff said ignoring Abed, “I cannot get married, before I know it I’ll be stuck watching the View or Real Housewives of Who Cares.”

            “Oh Jeffery that’s not going to happen, you know Annie is more of a Jimmy Fallon gal anyway.” Shirley straightened his tie a little.

            “And besides she’d never watch Real Housewives, that garbage television, if you’re going to get stuck watching anything it’s going to be Once Upon a Time.” Abed said, “Because despite the fact that Annie knows that the golden days of that show are over she’s still going to hold out hope that it will go back to the way it was.”

            “Abed, you’re not really helping.” Shirley chirped, “Why don’t you two go get Annie. She’s having some anxiety too.”

            “She is?” Jeff said as Troy and Abed left.

            Shirley nodded, “Jeffery you love Annie don’t you?” she asked.

            “Of course, I love her more than I’ve ever loved anybody.”

            “Then I don’t think that it’s Annie that you’re scared of. All of your life you’ve been running away from your father but deep down you still wanted to be loved and cared for. Well now you have it Jeff, and I think it scares you. We’re the family you chose, Annie is the family you chose.” Once Shirley had finished there was light knocking on the door.

            “Jeff?” They heard Annie say, “Are you in there?”

            Shirley turned to Jeff, “Just talk to her for a few minutes.” She walked over to the door and Jeff covered his eyes.

            “Jeff?” Annie repeated. He could hear her heels making that clacking noise against the hardwood floor. “My my my don’t you look handsome,” her voice sounded smoky. Then he felt her tiny hands on his, “You don’t really believe in that stupid superstition do you?” She laughed trying to pry his fingers away from his eyes.

            “No but I know everyone else does so I’m just going along with it.”

            “Come on Jeff,” she pouted, “It’s just us.” But still he wouldn’t look at her, “Are you thinking about calling it off?” The flirty tone in her voice was reduced to a small and terrified sound.

            “Of course not! I’m just nervous that’s all.” He trailed off.

            “Terrified even,” she added on. “I’m scared too. I didn’t think I would get married so young. I thought I would be off seeing the world or something like that.” Her fingers tapped against his.

            “You can still do that, don’t let me hold you back.”

            She smiled, “If anything you’re helping me go forward.” She reached her hand forward and turned down the corners of his collar. Hesitantly he took his hands off of his eyes but they were still closed. Annie rolled her eyes, “Come on Jeff, just look at me… Please?”

            His eyes opened slowly and he gasped when he saw her, “What!?” she yelped, “What’s wrong?”

            “Nothing,” Jeff said almost speechless, “You look beautiful.” Annie looked down at the floor and blushed, “You don’t look too bad yourself Handsome.” She smiled.

            “Can you believe this is really happening?” She giggled, “We’re getting married today!”

            “I mean technically it’s your fault that we’re getting married so soon.” She gave him a glare before he smiled, “But I’m glad you did… It’s been a crazy past couple of months.”

 

**February:**

 

            They were in his living room, he was flipping through Men’s Health and she was checking her emails. She had gotten an email from a couple of bridal shops when she discretely turned to Jeff and said, “Do you like December 12th?”

            “For what?” Jeff asked, his eyes not tearing themselves away from the magazine.

            Annie rolled her eyes and snatched the magazine away from him, “For our wedding you dumdum.”

            “I can’t believe you just called me a ‘dumdum’” he chuckled, pretending to be offended.

            “Jeff!” Annie exclaimed, “Do you like the date or not?”

            “Sure December 12th of next year, that sounds great.”

            Annie quirked her mouth into a bashful smile, “What about December 12th of _this_ year?”

            Jeff raised his eyebrows, “This upcoming December?” she gave a small nod, “I thought you wanted a long engagement?” Annie pursed her lips, “My excitement may have gotten the better of me…”

            “You know we haven’t told anyone outside the group yet,” He said plainly.

            “Jeff it’s only February that’s plenty of time to plan a wedding. Especially when I have this!” As if she had pulled it out of thin air a humongous binder was sitting in her lap.

            “Jesus Christ Annie!” he yelped when he saw how the binder was overflowing with wedding ideas. “You conjured all of this up in two months?”

            “No silly,” Annie rolled her eyes, “I’ve been collecting things since I was 12. I just cleaned it out, it used to be _a lot_ thicker!”

            Jeff lifted the binder off of her lap and began looking through it, “How could it get any thicker than this?” he mumbled low enough so she couldn’t hear him. When Jeff looked back at Annie she looked very nervous, “So… What do you think?”

            “I think we’re having a winter wedding.”

            Annie’s face lit up at the news, “Ok!” she laughed hugging him, “ I was thinking of gray and midnight blue for our color scheme.” She pointed to a swatch inside the binder. “The bridesmaids could wear blue dresses and the guys could wear grey tuxes with ties matching the bridesmaids’ dresses.” Annie flipped through the pages of her binder and showed Jeff a few examples.

            “That sounds great.” He said leaning back on the couch and picked up his Men’s Health magazine again.

            Annie raised her eyebrows, “Jeff! You’re not going to help.”

            “Annie,” Jeff sighed, “It looks like you already have everything figured out, just give me my tux and I’ll show up on the day of.”

            He smirked when she slapped at his bicep, “I’m serious Jeff I want us to plan our wedding together.” Her lip began to quiver, “A girl’s wedding day is one of the most important days of her life.”

            Jeff knew that she was 60% faking it but her sad blue eyes and quivering lip were his weakness, and she knew that, so he put his magazine back down on the coffee table. “What type of flowers do you think we should have?” Jeff asked.

            Her lip stopped quivering and her perky attitude had returned, “I was thinking red roses, kind of cliché I know but I think they’ll look good next to the blue.”

            “What about bridesmaids? Who were you thinking about?”

            “Well Britta and Shirley for sure, I was thinking about my cousin Naomi on my mother’s side. We still talk every once in a while. Maybe Frankie and Abed’s girlfriend Rachel.” Jeff nodded, “Who were you thinking about for groomsmen?” She prayed he would leave any member of the firm out of it; they were a horrible influence on him. She knew Jeff despised Alan, but even if Ted or Bob were in their wedding they would try and talk him out of it or worse get him a stripper or something like that.

            “Troy and Abed of course. Maybe Pierce if he doesn’t piss me off too much between now and then. Duncan would be fun as a groomsmen and besides if I didn’t ask him he would never let me live it down.”

            “You should ask your brother!” Annie exclaimed.

            Jeff glared at her, “I would rather burn alive.”

            Annie’s jaw dropped, “Jeff! He’s not that bad.”

            “Annie the guy is on the brink of a nervous break down I am not asking that guy to be in my wedding.”

            “Jeff it would be a way to get closer to him,” Jeff brushed her off of his shoulder not taking her seriously whatsoever, “Fine.” She said, “Either that or you have to ask Craig to be your other groomsmen.”

            “Annieeeee,” Jeff whined, “I thought you loved me.” Annie rolled her eyes, “I do love you, very much actually, that’s why I’m doing this.” She pushed herself off of the couch and scanned through her binder for ideas on the dining room table, leaving Jeff only to his thoughts.

            He picked the lesser of two evils.

            So Jeff pulled out his phone, “Hey,” he said when the other line picked up, “You know Annie and I are getting married and we were wondering if you would like to be one of my groomsmen.”

            “Jeffery!” Craig Pelton screeched on the other side, “I would be honored.” Craig spent the next fifteen minutes of Jeff’s life thanking him for the once in a lifetime opportunity. Jeff would have hung up as soon as Craig had said yes but Annie was staring at him from the corner of her eye.

**March:**

 

            Annie had chosen to stay in contact with very few of her relatives, mostly the ones who had helped her when she got out of rehab. Her Uncle Aaron and his daughter Naomi had loaned her quite a bit of money to start community college and put the down payment on the apartment she had in the city. In return Annie was eternally grateful and they had kept in contact ever since.

            She basically saw him as the only father figure she had, when her mother kicked her out after rehab her father was too weak to act out against his wife. So when Jeff had asked her to marry him she wanted to be sure that they had his blessing. “You have a beautiful car Mr. Shubert,” was the first thing Jeff said to him and Annie had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, “What is that a 1966 mustang?”

            “Sure is,” her Uncle chuckled, “Jeff, call me Uncle Aaron. You’re going to be a part of this family very soon.”

            Annie raised her eyebrows, “How did you know!?”

            “The way you look at one another,” Annie and Jeff smiled at each other, “And besides you’re wearing an engagement ring. I’m not _that_ old.”

            Annie chuckled, “We came by to ask for your blessing.”

            “Of course! It would be my honor to give you two my blessing. Come in and sit down!” Aaron waved them over to the living room where Jeff and Annie sat opposite him.

            Her Uncle Aaron was very excited about Annie getting married, he asked to see the themes she had picked out and even asked her what type of dress she was thinking about getting. Annie happily obliged pulling out her cell phone and showing him a couple of pictures of some ideas she had. “We set the date for December 12th!” she told him.

            “A wonderful winter wedding.” He clapped his hands, “Now at this wedding I’m assuming that the men will wear Yamaka’s.”

            Annie raised her brow, truth be told the idea had completely slipped her mind. But before she could answer Jeff did, “Of course! All of the men _will_ wear Yamaka’s. ”

            Jeff was smiling at Aaron but Annie’s jaw had completely dropped as she turned her head to stare at him, “Honey,” she said, “You don’t own a Yamaka.”

            “Sure I do…” he said with his eyes moving between Annie and her Uncle, “It’s with all of my Jewish stuff. In my Jewish closet next to my star of David and Menorah!”

            “Good!” Aaron exclaimed.

            _He doesn’t know a damn thing about Judaism_ , was all Annie thought as her uncle and Jeff continued bonding.

            Before they left, Jeff had gone outside to crank up the car when Annie asked him, “Uncle Aaron I really want to thank you again for all your help when I was in that rut a couple of years ago.”

            “Little Annie, I’ve told you time and time again, it’s nothing! That’s what families do for each other, lend a helping hand when needed.”

            “And I’ll never forget your help, as you know… Mom and I still don’t talk and because of that her and Dad won’t be coming to the wedding.” Aaron nodded, “I’d like to ask if you could maybe… walk me down the aisle too? If you can’t don’t worry! I-”

            “Annie,” Aaron stopped her, “I would be more than happy to give you away to your husband.”

            In that moment she felt the need to cry but she held back and traded the tears in for a hug instead. “Jeff seems like a nice man Annie, I’m glad you two found each other.”

            “Thanks, I am too.”

**April:**

            Annie didn’t know what caused her to do it but she did. The envelope was firmly clasped in her hand as she pressed the elevator button. Many times she thought about turning back, this was a horrible idea. But nonetheless she continued on, if she didn’t do this now then she would never do it.

            When she got on the elevator she clicked the 33rd floor and nervously waited with the other people. Floor by floor they left her until finally the elevator’s ding was meant for her. Annie approached the receptionist desk, “Um Hi,” she started, “I’m here to see… Vanessa Edison.”

            “I’m sorry,” the receptionist said, “Ms. Edison only takes visitors by appointment.”

            “Could you just tell her that her daughter is here?”

            The receptionist was taken aback. “I didn’t know Ms. Edison had a daughter… But I will see what I can do. She’s stepped out for a private reason, you can wait in her office if you want.”

            Annie nodded and followed the receptionist down the hall until they arrived at the office labeled V. Edison. “Thank you,” Annie tried to smile. She didn’t open the door to the office until the receptionist was long gone.

            Her mother’s office looked like any other office. The only pictures she had on display were of Annie’s brother Anthony. She had called him and told him about the wedding, he had asked to be an usher and Annie was so excited he wanted to participate. “I’m sorry for everything that happened Annie,” he said, “It wasn’t fair for Mom to do that to you.”

            Annie sat down in one of the chairs when her eyes found a Christmas photo of their entire family from when Annie was in middle school. It was strange to see a picture that old in her mother’s office when it was obvious that all of the other pictures were relatively new. She didn’t see her dad in any of them and for a moment she panicked and wondered if her dad had died.

            “WHO is sitting in my office!?” she heard her mother’s voice shout from the hallway.

            “I’m sorry Ms. Edison, she said she was your daughter.” The receptionist said.

            A moment later the door was thrown open and Annie and her mother were staring face to face for the first time in six years. “What are you doing here?” Vanessa demanded.

            It took a moment for Annie to take in how much her mother had changed. She had more wrinkles and had obviously started dying her hair (probably to hide some grey streaks). “I um…” Annie started but was immediately interrupted by her mother, “If you’re here for money you can go ahead and leave. I do not need your pill addiction drama right now.” Her mother had crossed to the other side of the room and sat in her desk chair.

            “I’m not here to ask for money, I make my own money now.”

            “Do you,” Vanessa snorted as she opened her laptop screen.

            “Yes,” Annie said, “I’m a toxicologist specialist at a research lab run by the FBI.”

            “Good for you.” Annie took a deep breath and placed the small envelope in front of her mother, “What the hell is this?” Vanessa pointed at the envelope but didn’t move to open it.

            “Open it,” Annie smiled. Vanessa suspiciously reached forward and opened the envelope, “It’s my wedding invitation Mom. I’m getting _married_.”

            “Oh yes, Aaron said something about that when I was on the phone with him the other day. Apparently he’s walking you down the aisle.”

            “Yes well after everything that happened he helped put me through my first year of school. I’m extremely grateful to him and Naomi for being there for me, unlike some people.” The last part was said low enough so Vanessa wouldn’t hear it.

            “And what do you expect me to do with this?”

            Annie’s heart felt like it had shattered all over again, “What do I want you to do with it?” she half laughed, “I want you and dad to come to my wedding. By the way where is he? He’s not in any of your pictures in your office.”

            “So you’ve been snooping in my things have you?”

            “No, Mom. I just saw a couple of pictures and all I noticed was that there wasn’t any of dad.”

            Vanessa placed the invitation back inside the envelope, “Just for the record a couple of months after your breakdown and admission into that heinous health facility your father and I got a divorce.”

            “Oh,” Annie said, “Uncle Aaron never told me.”

            “Well, I’m telling you now,” Vanessa handed the invitation back to Annie, “Here you can take this back.”

            Annie’s jaw hung wide open, “You don’t want to come?”

            Vanessa scoffed, “Why would I want to come to a wedding of two drug addicted psychopaths. What did you do meet him during your ‘recovery’?”

            “Mom I already told you I’m not addicted to Adderall anymore. I haven’t been addicted to it since I was in high school. And Jeff isn’t a drug addict either. He’s a lawyer and he happens to be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

            Vanessa rolled her eyes, “Please, that’s what they all say before it goes up in flames.”

            Annie felt the tears well up in her eyes, “Mom… You really don’t want to come?”

            Vanessa made eye contact with her daughter for the second time in their meeting. “No. I do not.”

            “Fine. I see you haven’t changed.” Annie snarled as she grabbed her purse and reached for the door.

            “You’re forgetting your invitation.” Vanessa said.

            For Annie that was like a knife twisting inside the already exposed wound, “No,” she said turning back to her Mom, “Keep it. In case you change your mind, because despite the fact that you’ve abandoned me countless times and don’t seem to give a damn about our relationship I still love you. _Because you’re my mom_. And if you change your mind I still want you to come to my wedding and meet my husband.” And with that Annie left Vanessa’s office and marched out of the building with her head held as high as she could.

            She didn’t allow herself to cry until she got to Jeff’s apartment and he had his arms wrapped tightly around her. “Everything is going to be ok,” he shushed her, “She’s a real loser if she doesn’t care about you Annie.” Everything Jeff said Annie knew he was right but there was still a part of her broken heart that held out hope that maybe one day her mom would want to get to know her again.

            Annie marked her mother’s name on the ‘here list’ you know in case she changed her mind.

            She tried to contact her father but he was no where to be found either.

 

**June:**

            May had passed quickly, Annie had done very little plan for the wedding that month because her paperwork had begun to pile up at work. But she, Britta and Shirley had agreed that the month of June would be solely dedicated to finding her wedding dress.

            “This is completely hopeless!” Annie screamed at her friends, “I’ll never find the right dress.”

            “Don’t stress out pumpkin you’ve only tried on… How many dresses?” Shirley asked.

            “Twenty five.” Britta and Annie groaned.

            Shirley got up off of the sofa that she and Britta were sitting on and sorted through all of the dresses that Annie had tried on. They all looked lovely on her but they just… weren’t the ‘one’. Most of the dresses Annie had tried on were princess gowns with giant tool skirts. “Let me look around a little bit, maybe I’ll find something you didn’t catch!”

            “Knock yourself out,” Annie said as she plopped herself down next to Britta.

            Shirley walked around the store and flipped through a couple more gowns that were the style that Annie had chosen. That’s when her eyes wandered to the manikin on the wall. It was a tight fitted off the shoulder dress. The mermaid dress was an ivory color instead of the traditional white and it hugged the manikin’s figure until it flared out around the knees. Immediately Shirley got one of the store’s associates to show the dress to Annie.

            Annie gasped when she saw the dress, “Shirley it’s so beautiful! But it’s not a part of the game plan!”

            “Was marrying a guy like Jeff Winger a part of your game plan?” Britta said sarcastically.

            “Well….” Annie said, “Not exactly.”

            “Then try the dress on.”

            “But it’s not even a traditional white!”

            Shirley raised her eyebrows, “Virgins. Wear white at their wedding.” Annie gasped, “That’s right, I’m not a fool! I know what you’ve been up to!”

            And with that Annie glanced at the dress again before snatching it out of her hands and practically running towards the dressing room. When she came out a few moments later she was wearing the brightest smile either of them had ever seen.

            “That’s the one,” Britta smiled.

            Annie stood in front of the 360 mirror and started giggling, “Annie you look so beautiful,” Shirley said.

            “Yeah, Jeff’s really going to love it.”

            As soon as Britta had mentioned Jeff’s name, Annie had started crying, “Oh pumpkin, why are you crying?” Shirley reached into her purse and pulled out a handkerchief to hand to Annie.

            “I’m just so happy.” She cried, “When I was in rehab and when my mom kicked me out I had nothing but a couple of dollars in my wallet. I never would have imagined how great my life would be you know? I have a family of friends, a man who loves me.” Annie wiped her eyes and smiled at her friends, “I’m just so happy, I love you guys so much.”

            Britta and Shirley both eloped Annie into a hug showering her with, ‘we love you too,’

            After breaking apart there were a few moments of silence before Britta whispered, “So is this the dress? Because I don’t know about you but I am dying to get some of that gluten free pizza across the street.”

            Annie resisted the urge to roll her eyes, “Yes, _this_ is the dress!

 

**December 12 th **

            Jeff smiled as his eyes raked over Annie’s body, “I’m glad this was the dress you got, you look absolutely stunning.”

            Annie blushed and ran her fingers through her hair, “Thanks,” she smiled, “I was hoping to look more princessey like Cinderella’s wedding dress or something like that haha.”

            “Trust me, you look way better than any cookie cuter princess Walt Disney came up with.”

            “Really?” She asked.

            “Really.” When he said that he sounded completely speechless. “I can’t believe I have the privilege to marry such a stunningly beautiful woman.” Annie punched his arm, “Ow! I’m serious. You really are beautiful Annie.”

            “Thank you,” she said leaning in to kiss him.

            “Hold it,” he said placing a finger over her lips, “You can’t kiss me until you marry me.”

            She rolled her eyes, “If I leave, will you promise not to get cold feet?”

            “I promise, that’s the Winger guarantee.”

            “Fine,” she kissed the finger that had remained on her lips before she skipped out of his dressing room.

            Jeff finished tying his tie and put his grey jacket on when he stepped out of the dressing room to find Troy and Abed watching the newest episode of Inspector Spacetime on their phone. “Guys seriously? At my wedding?”

            “Shhh,” Abed said, “It’s the one where Thoraxis and Inspector Spacetime find out that they’re actually father and son.”

            “What? Really?” Jeff said leaning his head over to get a good look at his doppel ganger.

            “Jeff!” A fresh out of breath Dean Pelton ran towards them almost half an hour later.

            “Craig!” Jeff groaned, “What is it?”

            Dean looked at his watch as he panted heavily, “You guys are way behind schedule! It’s almost time to start.”

            “Shit.” Jeff started running down the hallway with Troy, Abed and the Dean following steadily behind him. Jeff stopped at the door and the other three literally ran into him, “Thanks,” Jeff heaved.

            “You ready to do this?” Troy said patting Jeff’s back.

            He took a step back and licked his lips, her was nervous as hell but all he had to remember was that in a few moments Annie would be by his side… forever. And with Annie… Forever didn’t seem so terrifying.

            And when Jeff said, “Yeah, I am.” He really meant it. And when Troy opened the door and Jeff saw all of the people piled inside he swallowed. “Do you think we could maybe get some water before we start? I’m feeling a little light headed,” the Dean said before he fainted.

            The wedding was perfect, but Jeff thought Annie was what made it perfect. No amount of flowers that Britta had arranged or what Taylor Swift song played as they exchanged vows made the wedding more perfect than the fact that Annie Edison was behind it all. To be honest Jeff had shed a few tears when he saw how Annie glowed as she walked down the aisle. Don’t worry she had a handkerchief in hand (she thought it would be used for her eyes not his). “You look so beautiful.”

            “I know.” Annie smirked.

            “Wow, cocky much?” he chuckled.

            “You think you’re the first person to ever compliment me?” She looked so innocent and sounded so flirty that that Jeff almost forgot that they were actually getting married.

            “Oh my god I love you so much.” They chuckled for a moment before their ceremony officially started. A small cry came from someone other than the bride and groom. Troy and Abed looked back at the Dean who was wiping his eyes, “I just get really emotional at weddings, ok?” Troy and Abed exchanged nervous glances before returning their attention to the couple exchanging vows.

Annie’s vows were flowery while Jeff’s was straightforward and after they kissed and Jeff broke the glass neither one of them could believe what had just happened.

            “We’re married!” Annie squealed.

            “I know,” Jeff said, “I’m so happy,”

            “I am too,”

            When Annie and Jeff walked out hand in hand Annie noticed a familiar face sitting on the back row. Her mother, Vanessa, was standing alone on the back aisle with a moistened handkerchief in her hand.

            The reception was quite the party. After Jeff and Annie took their first dance to the Jonas Brothers song ‘Love Bug’, Troy and Abed immediately started a dance competition. Annie laughed, “I’ll be right back I have to use the ladies room,”

            “Hurry back, I have a feeling you don’t want to miss how terribly this is going to end.” Jeff said before Annie went to find Britta.

            Jeff stood there for a few minutes watching Abed try to ‘naenae’. “Excuse me,” someone said. Jeff turned around and saw someone he didn’t recognize. “I don’t know if Annie has told you about me… I’m Vanessa.”

            His mouth formed a small ‘o’ before he held his hand out for her to shake, “Of course, you’re my Annie’s mother.”

            She nodded her head slightly, “I’m afraid I haven’t earned back the title of Annie’s mother… After the way I have treated her.”

            “I should say so.” Jeff scoffed.

            “I know what I’ve done in the past is wrong. I’m glad she’s found a group of friends to support her when I couldn’t, and I’m glad she’s found someone who loves her as much as you do.” Jeff stared at her, “The way you look at her is how every mother’s daughter should be looked at by someone.”

            “I love her very much,” was all he said.

            “Like I said before… I haven’t been the mother Annie deserved, but when you come back from your honeymoon I hope that maybe we could start over. It would bring me great joy if I could take you two out to dinner one evening.”

            Jeff nodded, “We’ll see about that. You should talk to Annie, she just went to the bathroom she’ll be back in a few minutes.”

            Vanessa looked nervous, “If you could just pass the message along to her, I don’t want to upset her on her wedding day.” Jeff nodded, “Here” Vanessa handed Jeff a small purple envelope. “Maybe this can be a way to make up for some of the things I’ve done. I know it will never be enough… But I want to try.”

            Jeff raised his eyebrow at her before Vanessa turned to walk away. Annie returned a few moments later, “Jeff,” she said, “What’s wrong?”

            “Your mom.”

            “What did she say!? Was she rude to you Jeff?”

            “No,” he shook his head, “Quite the opposite actually. She wants to take us out to dinner when we get back from our honey moon.”

            “Oh,” Annie said, “That sounds nice,”

            “And then she handed me this,” Jeff handed Annie the little purple envelope. Annie opened it and inside was three golden keys and a note.

            _Dear Annie,_

_I’m sorry for the way I’ve acted, maybe this will prove to you that I am ready to start over. That I’m ready to be your mom again…_

_Happy nuptials._

_Your mom._

            At the bottom of the page was an address. “Oh my god,” Annie said.

            “What is it?”

            Annie had already begun to cry when Jeff asked her, “She’s giving us my grandparents house.” Jeff was completely speechless, he was suspicious and wanted to know why all of a sudden within the past eight months Vanessa had wanted to rekindle her relationship with her daughter. But all Annie could think about was how happy her grandparent’s house made her.

            The smell of it, how beautiful the house was, when she thought of her childhood she thought of that home and freshly baked cookies that were sitting inside the cookie jar.

            Jeff slipped the envelope back inside his pocket and when Annie’s tears had dried the two returned to their reception. Troy had won the dance battle and was now swaying along with Britta to the jazz classic, ‘the way you look tonight.’ Dancing to that song was the last thing that Jeff and Annie did before their friends sent them off on their honeymoon. “Jesus Christ it’s freezing.” Annie complained.

            “That’s what you get for not getting a shawl like I told you.”

            “Well I’m sorry, I’ve had a lot on my mind. Maybe if you had helped me more I would have found the time to find a shawl I liked.”

            “Look at you two,” Shirley said, “Already bickering like an old married couple.”

            Jeff slipped his jacket off and placed it on Annie’s shoulders, “Better?” he smirked.

            “Better,” Annie said before Jeff leaned forward and kissed her. Moments like that were what Annie treasured about their relationship. Whenever Jeff was thinking ‘I love you’ he gave her this beautiful look of passion. She called it the ‘Annie smile’.

            “Alright you two! Time to hit the road!” Troy exclaimed.

            The bridal party (excluding Craig he was too busy crying in a corner too upset by Jeff’s new marital status) gave out the sparklers and lit them up as Annie and Jeff ran between them. The wedding was everything that 12 year old Annie could have hoped for… and her husband was more than anything that any version of Annie could have dreamed of.

 


	12. Mr. and Mrs. Winger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post Honeymoon Jeff/Annie

Chapter 12: Mr. and Mrs. Winger:  
AN: Y’all sorry I’ve been listening to this Hamilton cast album all week. Also I’ve only had fifteen hours of sleep the past three days with all the work and schoolwork I’ve been doing. But I promised myself I’d finish this chapter for you guys. If I don’t have a lot on my plate this weekend I’ll try and update both this and a Brief History of Love and Literature (my other J/A fic).  
Thank you so much, love you all, as always favs, follows and reviews will make me want to update this XD  
Tay.

Mr. and Mrs. Winger returned from their honeymoon eight days after their wedding. Shirley had surprised them by making them dinner and it was sitting in the fridge when they got home. They had numerous voicemails from various acquaintances, friends and family members congratulating them on their nuptials. “What would be a good day for me to move all of my stuff out of my apartment?” Annie asked.  
“How about we just move it out whenever we decide to move into your grandparents old house?”  
“That sounds good, I’ll text Troy and Abed that.” Annie bent down to fetch her cell phone out of her purse when Jeff pressed the final message on their answering machine. It was Annie’s mother. She quickly explained that she didn’t know when they would be returning home but her roommate Ay-bed told her that she could contact them there. Vanessa beat around the bush, congratulating them on their nuptials, and then stated that they should give her a call so they can schedule that dinner they had talked about at the reception.  
Annie froze in her spot and Jeff walked over to her and began rubbing her shoulders, “You sure you want to do this?” He felt her relax against his hands, “Yeah,” she nodded, “It’s now or never.”  
“What’s going to happen if she… hurts you again?”  
Annie took a deep breath, “I guess that’s just the price I’m willing to risk.” So instead of texting Troy and Abed immediately she called her mother instead.  
“Hey mom…” Annie said nervously. Jeff’s hands went back to lightly rubbing her back  
“Anne!” Vanessa exclaimed on the other line. Annie smiled at how excited her mom was to talk to her. They stayed on the phone for a few minutes; they talked about how her honeymoon was and what days were good for her and Jeff. Overall the conversation was refreshing and Annie was excited about the dinner.  
Dinner with Annie’s mother wasn’t nearly as awful as Jeff thought it would be. She was still insufferable and extremely snooty but… she was trying. And sure one hour long dinner wasn’t enough to reassemble their non-existent relationship, but it was a start.  
She had taken them to some famous Thai place down town, about halfway through dinner Annie asked, “What happened to dad?”  
Vanessa took a sip of her wine and sighed, “After our divorce he completely disappeared, Anthony says he hasn’t heard from him either.” Annie frowned at what her mother had told her. When she was kicked out for going to rehab her dad was the one that seemed like he wanted her to stay…. So if they got divorced months after she was put into rehab, and he knew for a fact that she was living on the streets. What happened?   
Annie at the time was living with Shirley and was filling out applications for community college but her dad didn’t know about any of that. So why didn’t he try to look for her? It didn’t just confuse Annie; it made her extremely bitter toward him. All this time she thought it was her mom that she should have been the most furious at. But her dad didn’t even try to look for her, and somehow that stung worse than just being kicked out.  
At least her mom was making an effort to correct her mistakes. Her dad was still a nonexistent figure in her life.  
As these questions raced in Annie’s mind, Jeff saw her frown out of the corner of his eye and reached out and squeezed her hand. She was transported away from her thoughts and her eyes met Jeff who was giving her a small smile. She smiled back before she placed her other hand on top of his.   
Dinners with Vanessa had become somewhat of a weekly habit. Jeff had gone from loathing the occasion to only groaning loudly whenever Annie reminded him of it. Annie suspected that he was still bitter towards her mom after all of the crap she had put her through. Annie knew how protective he was of her. After last Christmas, whenever Jeff saw Vaughn he’d put his arm around Annie and give him the deadliest of glares. Annie thought it was sweet, but she wanted her mom and Jeff to be friends and that didn’t look like it was happening any time soon.  
Two Saturdays after their honeymoon, Jeff was woken up by Annie’s alarm clock. Her alarm clock wasn’t an obnoxious sound it was just the latest Taylor Swift hit. Not that Jeff didn’t like Taylor Swift, he had jammed out to Shake it Off in his car plenty of times when it was first released but to wake up to it every morning was more exhausting then actually waking up. Especially if it was at 8 o’clock in the fucking morning.  
He groaned when he saw the time on their clock and rolled over. A moment later he felt someone poke his back, “Come on, wake up,” Annie said sleepily.  
“Mhm. Fifteen more minutes.” He mumbled sleepily.  
Annie rolled over and ran her fingers through his hair, “Come on get up we’re moving today!” Despite how sleepy she was she tried her best to sound wide-awake. She yawned loudly before pulling the sheets back and getting up from their bed.  
“Wait,” she heard him whimper, “Come back you’re so warm.” Annie smiled at how innocent he sounded. Jeff wasn’t what you would call a morning person, when he first wakes up in the morning he is barley present. It was one of Annie’s favorite things about Jeff, when he was this sleepy he said the cutest things to her. And well… She couldn’t resist that.  
“Alright,” she sighed, “Fifteen more minutes.” A hint of a grin appeared on Jeff’s face as she crawled back into bed and settled into his side. “I’m serious Jeff in fifteen minutes your perky butt is getting out of this bed. The others will be here in an hour and a half.”  
Jeff chuckled, “Did you just call my butt, perky?” Annie could feel herself blushing.  
“… Maybe.” She said. He chuckled as his arms tightened around her waist. Fifteen minutes of that would never be enough. The two of them cuddled up together with Annie’s hair smelling like that new pomegranate shampoo she got while they were on their honeymoon. She had left hers at home so Jeff had been given to job to find something that would make her hair voluminous and shiny. He picked it mostly for the scent but her hair did look great, and at that moment he knew he had made the right choice.  
Once Annie woke up there was no going back to sleep for her. But she did like lying next to Jeff, especially when his eyes were closed and he looked so peaceful. His hair wasn’t done and she liked to run her hands through it and then down his jawline just to feel the hint of scruff that had grown over night.  
And just as Annie said, fifteen minutes later the alarm went off again. “Alright,” she said, “Get up, now we only have 45 minutes until everyone else and the truck arrives.”  
“Fine,” Jeff mumbled literally rolling out of bed. By the time he had made it to the doorway Annie was already putting a fresh pot of coffee on. He pulled a chair up to the counter top and slouched, with his hand being the only support for his head. “I don’t know how you do it,” he closed his eyes and yawned loudly.  
“Guess I’m just a morning person,” she chirped.  
Despite the fact that he felt like he could sleep for another eight hours he felt himself smiling at her. “What muffins do you want this morning?” she asked.  
“Lemon poppy seed,” he opened his eyes to see Annie frowning at him, “What?”  
“We always eat lemon poppy seed.”  
“What’s wrong with lemon poppy seed?”   
“… I kind of want blueberry this morning.” She said in a hushed voice, “Alright,” Jeff sighed, “Blueberry is fine. But I think we should have discussed muffin preferences before we tied the knot.”  
“That and DVR privileges, you really need to stop deleting my Game of Thrones recordings.”  
“I’m sorry Annie, the show is going down hill and you need to be protected from it.”  
“And replacing my Game of Thrones with Downton Abbey is better? And seriously Jeff you only think it’s going down hill because of the Red Wedding!”  
“We are not having this argument again. Downton Abbey is a brilliant show and I ‘m not going to defend it, you know why? Because it doesn’t need me to.” Jeff firmly ended the argument by taking a giant swig of his coffee.  
“Fine,” Annie said, “Blueberry it is.”  
The rest of the group showed up about an hour later and they all took turns carrying boxes down to the moving truck. Annie was practically bouncing in the driver’s seat as Troy drove them to their new house. “I’m so excited!” she said.  
“Me too,” is all Jeff said, with his arm across Annie’s shoulder and a smirk on his face.  
The house was a two-story brick house with blue curtains and a beautiful fenced in porch. “Jeff!” She said, “Look we can get rocking chairs so in the summers we can sit out here and enjoy the outdoors.”  
“Can we do that when I’m sixty?” Jeff mumbled.  
Annie glared at him before placing her hands firmly on her hips, “Start unpacking old man.” She pointed to some of the boxes sitting in the driveway.  
Jeff straightened up, “I am not old! I’m only 35!” Anne just rolled her eyes and walked inside the house. “Hold on a second,” Jeff stopped her right before she walked through. “If we’re doing this, we’re going to do it properly.” Annie raised her eyebrow at him before his hands found their way around her body and lifted her up into the air.   
“Jeff,” she giggled.   
“Save it, I’m just following tradition I’m not trying to be sickly romantic.” He brushed her accusations off of his shoulders. “Okay,” she whispered. Before crossing the threshold he looked at her and her smile went from ear to ear so he couldn’t help but smiling back. “Milady?”  
“Milord,” she laughed as Jeff crossed the threshold of their new home. They held their position for only a moment before Britta came flying in. “Move it you lovebirds we’ve got work to do.” As Jeff set Annie back on the ground he couldn’t help but chuckle at the pout she had on her face. “We can do it again later if you want.” He told her.  
“Okay, maybe this time our moment won’t be BRITTAED!” Annie shouted at her friend.  
Some of the furniture from when Annie’s grandparents lived there was still there. Vanessa had kept the house as modern as she could since she had been renting the house out before giving it to Jeff and Annie. They had also brought a lot of furniture that she and Jeff had. But they were kind of glad they didn’t need to chuck out a bunch of money to make their house look full.  
“So three bedrooms Jeffery?” Pierce said. “Plan on filling those up quick?”  
“Sure,” Jeff shrugged.  
“Oh no.” Annie said at the same time. The two awkwardly looked at each other for a few seconds. “Well,” she hesitated, “We still have time to think about it.”  
“Yeah,” Jeff shrugged, “No need to be in a rush.” To be quite honest Jeff didn’t even know why he said ‘sure’ to Pierce in the first place. Children in general horrified him, but having one by his side on a regular basis scared him even more. But still, as he glanced at Annie again as she was unpacking some boxes he thought that maybe the thought didn’t scare him so much.  
They all had been unpacking boxes for hours when Troy yelled, “I’VE GOT A BABY PICTURE OF JEFF!”  
“Troy,” Jeff warned, “No.”  
But all Troy could do was smile and wave the picture in his hand, “And he’s naaaaaaaked.”  
The other members of the group gathered around Troy, Annie giggled at how embarrassed Jeff was trying not to be. He had face palmed himself and kept most of his mouth covered by his hand, Jeff felt Annie’s elbow nudge his side, “Stop giggling!” he said.  
“Jeff there’s no need to be embarrassed, it’s kind of a cute photo!”  
“Whoa,” Britta said, “Not much has changed down there, right Jeff?”  
“Alright that does it.” Jeff snatched the picture out of Troy’s hand, which led to a communal ‘aw’. “No, no ‘aw”. You all are banned to look at or make fun of this picture again.”  
“But Jeff,” Pierce said, “We weren’t done looking at your wang.”  
“Pierce enough!” Jeff yelped while the others groaned at Pierce’s unnecessary comment.  
All the giggling had ceased when Jeff raised his voice at Pierce. Jeff then turned and disappeared to him and Annie’s room, which was already unpacked, and as soon as the door slammed the giggling continued. Jeff came out a few minutes later and announced he was going to order some pizza for everyone.  
“Make sure it’s gluten free,” Britta said.  
“No Britta, I’m not going to spend an extra ten dollars on your fake gluten allergy. Some people actually ARE allergic to gluten, it’s not trendy or cool it’s just annoying.” Without Jeff noticing Britta stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m getting meat lovers and vegetarian for you.” He mumbled.  
“Thank you,” Britta said proudly almost regretting her previous action.  
The pizza was delicious, so much so that even Britta didn’t… well Britta it. And Annie smiled and waved at their friends frantically as they left her new home, and Jeff couldn’t help but smile at them too when he saw how happy she was. After the last car had driven away Annie turned to Jeff with a coy smile on her face, “Soooo.”   
“So?” Jeff asked.  
“How about we redo that moment Britta ruined.” Jeff, wanting to amuse his wife graciously picked her up and walked her over the threshold, kicking the door shut behind them. “I love you, Mrs. Winger.” He said. Annie’s mouth dropped a little as she stared at him with a wondrous expression, “What?” he asked.  
“That’s the first time you’ve called me that.” Annie said with her fingertips scratching the back of Jeff’s neck.  
“Really?” Annie nodded, “Well Mrs. Winger,” he leaned in and pecked her lips, “I was thinking we should break in our new bedroom.”  
“And our new living room, and our new kitchen,”  
“You have this all mapped out, don’t you?” Jeff chuckled.  
“You have no idea.” She leaned in and held a lingering kiss against his lips before Jeff put her back on the ground, his hand still holding hers. “Lead the way,” was all he could say as she pulled him down the hallway and into their new bedroom.


	13. Chapter 13

Dear loveliest people in the world,

I know it’s been like a month since I updated but I hope it’s worth it. Sadly this chapter has like 2-3 (4 at the most) chapters left.

Anyway let me know what you think ^_^ as always I love you guys, especially those who are constantly giving me feedback! You guys are AMAZING!

Love,

Tay!

 

WIBLF Chapter 13: A New Kind of Challenge

 

            New Years and Christmas had come and gone for the Wingers. Life was great, Jeff thought. He and Annie were finally settling into the house they had, she had organized most of the kitchen and bathrooms at least twice by now, and the two of them had fallen into their routine. Except their routine wasn’t as boring like Jeff had expected it to be.

            Every morning Annie’s alarm clock would go off, it was a normal alarm clock Leonard had gotten them as a wedding present. Jeff told Annie he couldn’t be married to her if she kept that obnoxious alarm clock she had when they were dating. Anyway, Annie was always the first one to get up. She’d roll over and whisper for him to wake up, maybe cover one side of his face in kisses before getting up and taking a shower.

            As soon as he heard the door to the bathroom close he knew it was time for him to actually get up he would go into the kitchen and turn on the coffee pot. He would think about going to bed for a second before getting a head start on breakfast. Annie would come into the kitchen, only in her bathrobe, kiss him on the cheek and take over breakfast preparation duties. He’d take his shower, get dressed and they’d eat breakfast together.

            That particular week Annie kept asking him to make those wonderful french omelets with the tomatoes he put in them. Every day that week she had asked for them, “I don’t know I just have been wanting to eat some tomatoes lately.” On Friday Annie walked into the kitchen and nearly gagged at the smell of the bacon on the pan. “Ew Jeff there is something wrong with that, you have to throw it out.”

            “What are you talking about? It smells fine.”

            “Well your nostrils must be broken because it smells like it’s gone bad.” He looked at her inquisitively before he saw the rapid change in the color of her face; “Jeff if you don’t throw that out I’m going to hurl in here. And it’s not going to be pretty.”

            “Okay, okay.” He said before dumping it all in the garbage can. Annie had moved to a stool seated at the bar behind the stove, “Are you okay? You’re starting to look green.”

            Annie shook her head and placed a hand on Jeff’s shoulder, “It’s nothing, I’ve just never smelled meat that way before. Something must be wrong with it, I’ll go to the store on my way home and get some more before mom comes over tonight.”

            Jeff nodded in response, “What do you want for breakfast then?”

            She straightened up and looked at Jeff, “What about french toast?”

            “We have cinnamon toast crunch?”

            “That’ll do, will you grab me a bowl.” They finished the rest of their breakfast together quickly and headed off to work.

            A strange thing had happened in the office after he became engaged to Annie, and even stranger after he married Annie. For the first time in his entire career he actually knew the names of mostly everyone at the firm, and not just the other partners or the guys who owned it. “Hey Diana,” he said to the secretary up front.

            “Good Morning Mr. Winger!” she chirped as she handed him a vanilla envelope, “Ted left this for you.”

            “Doesn’t he always leave me something?” He groaned as he tore open the file and began reading through it, “So how’s Tom and the kids?”

            “They’re good, Katie is graduating this upcoming weekend.”

            When Jeff had finished skimming the file he slipped it back into the envelope and looked back up at Diana, “Save me a piece of cake, won’t you?” Diane just rolled her eyes and turned back to her computer, Jeff laughed and made his way to the office.

            The day went rather smoothly; any day that Alan decided not to bother him was a good day. Jeff attended meetings with clients and even had lunch with a judge who owed him a favor. When he got back from his lunch meeting Diana informed him that Ted had stopped by to check up with him on the Sullivan case.

            Annie’s day was moderately productive, she finished up some tests that the Denver Police Dept had sent her and ate a salad from the café next door.

 

            “I’m serious Annie,” he said pulling her to the side, “I don’t like that your mother cleans our house like she’s our maid.”

            “She’s just kind of a neat freak.” Annie said getting up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the lips, “Just let her do what she wants, she’s happy, and besides you hate dusting anyway.”

            Jeff rolled his eyes and walked from the entrance hall to the kitchen where Annie had already started cooking dinner. He frowned when he saw that she wasn’t doing the roast like they had planned. Instead there was a pot of noodles and pan full of tomato sauce. “What happened to roast?”

            “Oh…” Annie began as she rubbed her tummy, “My stomach’s been upset since this morning and when I opened the meat I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t even put mean in with the sauce because my stomach was so upset.”

            He looped one arm around her waist and pulled her in closer, “You’re lucky that your spaghetti is so good. Otherwise I’d be very pissed off.” She raised one of her eyebrows as he quickly ducked down and ate a spoonful of the sauce, “Jeff, gross! My mom and I have to eat out of that too!” He’s laughing when she swats at his arm.

            “Okay, okay,” he says putting the spoon down and raising his hands over his head, “I surrender,”

            She rolls her eyes and tells him to go set the table. Vanessa was already sitting in the middle of the table being as still as she possible could. “Vanessa,” Jeff began, “How have you-”

            “I’ve been fine Jeffery, thanks for asking.” She cut him off.

            Jeff took a deep breath before he tried to open his mouth again, “Yes I did get my rose bushes cut back like you suggested. But the man you called to do it trimmed them too far back.”

            “It’s great to see you again,” He managed to bite out. Jeff sat down across from Vanessa and began reading through his twitter feed. When dinner was ready he helped set the table for Annie and even told her he would clean up the kitchen, all by himself.

            “I thought we were going to have some sort of meat tonight.” Vanessa made the comment as soon as they all were sitting down.

            Annie shrugged, “I don’t know I think I’m getting sick or something. The smell of meat has just been foul today.” Vanessa raised her eyebrows then made eye contact with Jeff before she dropped the subject.

            Vanessa ate dinner and stuck around for a game of scrabble, Jeff wasn’t really a player he only played to amuse Annie and annoy Vanessa but he played nonetheless. He would play words like ‘Object’ and ‘Dog’ which really set Vanessa over the edge and eventually he knew both his wife and mother-in-law would kick him out of the game. So he would return to his chair with a nice glass of scotch in his hand and watch the rest of the game play out.

            When Annie was putting the scrabble game away Vanessa turned to Jeff, “So she’s getting sick at the smell of raw meat, and she has had quite the appetite for tomatoes.”

            Jeff shrugged, “It’ll probably pass, every once in a while she’ll have weird cravings like that.”

            “Hmmm…” Vanessa said as Annie re-entered the room and that’s when the whistle went off in Jeff’s head. There were so many signs and Annie’s the smart one, she should’ve picked up on them. “Bye Mom! I’ll call you later!” Annie said before closing the door to their house, “Well that was fun!” she chirped leaving Jeff in the living room.

            Jeff followed her into the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bathtub as she began her evening ritual. When it was time for her to change into her pajamas his eyes glanced over her stomach as she pulled her tank top down, and for a brief moment their eyes met and she smiled. Annie went about to brushing her teeth and taking her makeup off before Jeff said softly, “You know you’re pregnant right?”

            Annie looked at Jeff curiously before she rinsed her mouth out with water and put her toothbrush away, “What the hell are you talking about?” Annie said wiping her mouth off.

            “You know you’re pregnant right?” Jeff repeated.

            She started chuckling, “No I don’t, why do you think I’m pregnant?”

            “I don’t think,” Jeff said standing up, “I know,” He was standing right behind her and the way he whispered the second part in her ear caused her body to shiver. “You’re pregnant,” he sighed.

            Annie just rolled her eyes, “I am not.”

            “Oh yeah,” Jeff said, “Tell me… When are you supposed to have-to do that- well you know.”

            “Jeff you’re not fifteen you can say the word period.”

            “Alright,” he said, “When were you supposed to have your period.”

            Annie’s eyes rolled around the room, like she was trying to calculate some sort of advanced calculus, “I was supposed to have it around the eighth!” she said.

            Jeff raised his eyebrows and nodded, “Yeah, and it’s the 14th.” Annie’s eyes got wide as Jeff nodded at her, “Oh shit I might be pregnant.”

            “You don’t say!” Jeff said sarcastically. Annie ran out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, shocked, Jeff followed after her. In one hand she had Jeff’s rain jacket and in the other she held his keys. “Annie what are you doing?” he asked as she threw both objects at him.

            “You need to go right now and buy me a pregnancy test.” To be quite honest Jeff wasn’t that desperate to know right away and Annie practically had to shove him out the door.

            It took him about fifteen minutes to get to the Walgreens and find the pregnancy test aisle. He seriously couldn’t believe that they had a while aisle dedicated to pregnancy tests. He grabbed four and a bag of chocolate covered pretzels knowing that whatever these tests said; Annie would need some comfort food.

            The young lady at the counter eyed him up and down. He was still wearing his sweatpants and an old Denver Broncos jersey under his raincoat. The lady by the name of Annie, or so her nametag said, couldn’t have been older than 17 and she practically snorted when he placed all three tests down on the counter. “Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” she asked.

            Jeff was taken aback, he wasn’t really sure how to answer. He had never thought about having kids before he met Annie and they had only been married for four months so they really didn’t have enough time to talk about it. “I’ll let you know,” was all he said. She handed his credit card and the bag of tests back to him and he made his way out to the car.

            He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there but he knew he was having some sort of crisis. What the hell kind of father would he be? Would he just up and leave Annie and this kid like his dad did? What was going to happen if she wasn’t pregnant? Would they start trying to have kids? All these questions wandered throughout his mind before his mind crafted an image of the most beautiful person he could imagine.

            It was their kid. He looked like Jeff only he had his mother’s eyes and her personality. All these make-believe fantasies came to life inside his mind and he imagined he and Annie becoming soccer parents and taking weekend trips to the mountains and going to football games and an endless amounts of Christmas’s and Hanukkah’s. And in that moment the panic was almost over. Jeff drove home as fast as he could and when he opened the front door to their house Annie was pacing back in forth in the living room, her eyes red and her cheeks flushed.

            “Jeff!” She said, “Why did it take you so long I was starting to get worried!” Before she could do anything else he pulled her into a crushing kiss. When she was able to pull away from him she asked, “What was that for?”

            “Line was just really long at the Walgreens. That’s all.” Was all he said but she eyed him suspiciously before walking into the bathroom.

            Fifteen minutes later Jeff heard Annie crying from the bathroom. He stood up from his chair and gently opened the bathroom door. A roll of toilet paper flew right past him, “Cease fire and I’ll surrender!” He joked but it only made her cry worse. “Annie,” he whined, crawling over to where she was sitting on the bathroom floor, “Why are you crying.”

            She shoved all three tests into his hand, “They all say positive, are you happy now?” When she opened her eyes to see a tiny smile plastered upon his face she punched his shoulder.

            “Ow! What the hell Annie?” Jeff dropped the tests and began rubbing the spot where she had hit him.

            “You jerk!” She said, “You knocked me up on purpose!”

            Jeff rolled his eyes, “Annie, we’re married so technically I didn’t ‘knock you up’”

            “Oh my GOD! You did! You totally did this on purpose.”

            “Annie I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just as shocked as you are.” He tried to ease her worries but she wasn’t backing down, not yet anyways, “Oh sure then how did you happen to know that I was pregnant before I knew!?”

            Jeff shrugged, “I don’t know I guess I just picked up a few signs that’s all.” She did respond, she only wiped her tears away, “I’m ready though,” he whispered. Annie stopped what she was doing and looked at Jeff, “I’m ready to do this. I know it’s a little unexpected but you don’t have to be scared. I’m not going to abandon you or anything. I’m going to be here for the whole ride.”

 

            When he looked up Annie was smiling, and when he smiled back at her she threw her arms around his neck and he pulled her body into his lap.

            “We’re having a baby Jeff Winger, did you ever think this would happen?”

            “To be painfully honest… No. At least I didn’t think this would happen so soon.” With one hand he caressed her cheek and with the other he rubbed the back of his neck. “Me either,” she confessed, “But I’m glad it’s with you.”

            Jeff smiled back at her, “Yeah, you’re lucky you didn’t end up with some loser of a husband.”

            Annie rolled her eyes, “I have told you plenty of times I did _not_ have a bad taste in men.” She tried to stand up from his lap but he pulled her back down.

            “Sure you did… Mountain Flower.” Jeff chuckled.

            She raised her eyebrows, “You really want to do that? Be mean to your pregnant wife?” Jeff threw his hands up and allowed for her to get up off of the bathroom floor, “You’re right, I surrender.”

            “Come on,” she smiled, “Let’s go to bed.”

            That night Jeff couldn’t sleep for even a moment, all he could think about was Annie and this baby, his baby-no their baby. And how in a matter of time it would be here, out in the world experiencing life. What were they going to tell the group? Shirley would no doubt help Annie decorate the nursery and Troy and Abed would try their best to come up with names. He didn’t know what Britta would do other than buying “I’m a Feminist” onesie.

            Around two or three am when Annie got up to use the bathroom she noticed he was wide-awake. She curled up next to him and covered him with even more covers, “Come on Jeff,” She yawned, “Everything is going to be ok. Just go to sleep.” Annie patted Jeff’s chest, he reached up and caught her hand as it lay back down and he squeezed it. With that little reassurance he was able to get the sleep he needed.


End file.
